Seattle lab only uncovered extent of Washington coronavirus outbreak after breaking government rules

With the comparatively small number of coronavirus tests being conducted in the US hampering efforts to track the spread of the virus, The New York Times reports that “local officials across the country were left to work blindly as the crisis grew undetected and exponentially” — partially due to existing red tape and regulations.

In Washington state, believed to be the location of the start of the US outbreak, the first patient identified had, predictably, visited Wuhan in China and then reported respiratory problems. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made an exception to its strict testing criteria to confirm the diagnosis.

The question was whether this initial patient had already spread the disease within the community. Dr Helen Chu, an infectious disease expert based in Seattle and part of a local flu study, sought permission to test the study’s collection of flu swabs from across the region to see if they were positive for coronavirus — which would prove community spread was already happening.

She was refused permission by all of the relevant authorities.

After holding off for a couple of weeks until late February, Dr Chu went ahead and began performing coronavirus tests on the samples, having seen that the virus was spreading outside of China.

It didn’t take long to find another case — a teenager who had not travelled out of the country. The virus had already established a foothold in the US and was spreading in the Seattle area.

“It must have been here this entire time,” Dr Chu told the Times. “It’s just everywhere already.”

After reporting their findings, the CDC ordered them to stop testing, arguing that the flu study could not be repurposed because the research subjects had not given permission for this type of testing. The lab was also not certified for clinical work.

Existing red tape and regulations have impeded efforts to roll out testing nationally as rapidly as other countries. Ms Chu argues that there should be much more flexibility in emergency situations in which lives are at stake. Early testing can spot spread and trends sooner leading to better containment of a virus.

According to CDC data, 3,791 specimens have now been tested by CDC labs, and 7,288 by public health laboratories since 18 January. This figure is startlingly low when compared to other countries.

In the meantime, coronavirus spread undetected across the country, leaving local and state authorities scrambling to respond to the growing number of cases and deaths.

To date, there have been over 1,050 cases nationwide and 33 deaths.