Coronavirus: Massachusetts woman was denied test 3 times despite showing symptoms, flew to Beijing to get tested
A woman from Massachusetts, a coronavirus carrier, reportedly concealed her symptoms and flew from Los Angeles to Beijing to seek treatment for her condition in China. The Chinese woman, who lives in the US with her family, claimed that she was denied the coronavirus test in America at least three times after she started experiencing symptoms of the deadly virus.
The woman, who has only been identified as Li, stated that she eventually had to resort to the drastic measure of flying for 13 hours in a plane with other people to avail treatment, according to Beijing officials. Li reportedly took anti-fever medicine on March 12 at the airport in LA before boarding the flight with her husband and son. She was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus on Friday, just hours after she arrived in Beijing.
Li is currently being treated in quarantine while her husband and son are under medical observation in isolation. The case was first reported by Beijing News afterPang Xinghuo, the deputy director of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of Beijing, conducted a news conference on Saturday. Li said that she began experiencing a series of coronavirus symptoms, including chills, fevers, coughs and runny nose, from March 1 after one of her colleagues was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Li added that she went to a local hospital on March 3 but was given anti-viral medication. She also underwent X-ray checks of her lungs during two subsequent visits at the same hospital, however, the results did not exhibit any abnormality. She visited the hospital again on March 11, and her scan suggested that she had pneumonia. Li claimed that the hospital refused to admit her, adding that she had also applied for the coronavirus tests at least three times in America, however, all of her applications were rejected.
In an attempt to get her condition treated, she took Air China flight CA988 to travel to Beijing, and while in the flight, she told flight attendants that she suffered from low blood pressure and hence they arranged for her to sit at the back of the cabin.
An investigation has also been launched into Li, as Beijing police, in a statement, said that she took anti-fever medication before boarding and did not inform flight attendants about her health condition with honesty. She is currently being probed on suspicion of preventing the control of infectious diseases, while a total of 59 people who came in close contact with her have been quarantined.
The novel coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has claimed over 4,500 lives across the world, and infected over 187,000 people.