A case of mistaken identity

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
On July 4, Weston County Public Health announced via its Facebook page that the second identified case of COVID-19 in the county was the result of mistaken identity and would be removed from the county’s case number. 
The case was originally confirmed on June 29 in updated case numbers released by the Wyoming Department of Health. Later that evening, public health released a statement confirming the case, reporting that it was found in a resident at Weston County Manor, a long-term care facility in Newcastle. 
At that time, the facility followed all protocols. The patient was quarantined, staff and residents were tested, and the facility was locked down and no longer allowed visitors. Subsequent tests performed on the patient came back negative, and Dr. Mike Jording, the county’s health officer, reported to the News Letter Journal at the time that the case may be a false positive. 
It turns out that the case was not a false positive but rather a positive improperly labeled at the Wyoming State lab, according to Lori Bickford, the county’s public health nurse.
“This is not considered a false positive on this resident. The incident was one of mistaken identity on a positive sample that belonged to someone else,” Bickford said. “It was a mistake, and we thank God for that.” 
According to Bickford, after the subsequent negatives, the state lab performed tests to identify the source of the samples. This test determined that two tests had been mislabeled. The test on the Manor resident was in fact negative. 
“It is an unfortunate mistake. The state lab did their own investigation to get to the bottom of this,” Bickford said. “When a mistake is made, I find integrity in the lab trying to find the right answer and sharing the ultimate result.” 
“We are happy that the test for this resident was found to be negative,” said Maureen Cadwell, CEO of Weston County Health Services. “We have followed all the directives that we were given by the Wyoming Department of Health, and we continue to do our best to ensure our residents and staff are protected against COVID-19 or any other virus.”
Bickford also stated that she was pleased with the way Weston County Health Services responded to the positive result and worked with the Department of Health through the entire process. Before this incident, she said, the facility was also following protocol and doing everything in its power to keep residents and patients safe. 
“Health care can be a dangerous industry with exposure to any virus or other illness, and we do our best to make sure our staff have the appropriate protection in the form of PPE (personal protective equipment) or other devices. We have been very fortunate for the health of our residents, patients and staff, and wish everyone took this virus and other illnesses seriously. Please use proper precautions and practice safety during this situation and others as they come,” Cadwell said.
Bickford echoed those thoughts, saying that everyone is encouraged to follow the public health guidelines of social distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing a mask when social distancing is not possible.