The CDC’s laboratory test kit for Coronavirus. CDC tests are provided to U.S. state and local public health laboratories, Department of Defense (DOD) laboratories and select international laboratories. —Courtesy CDC

An up-Island man who believes he is suffering from COVID-19, and wanted to be tested because he is asthmatic, got the necessary referral, and then was turned away after a screening at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital showed he didn’t have a fever usually associated with the coronavirus. He said he had taken a large dose of Tylenol before going to be evaluated.

The man, who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity, said he left the hospital frustrated, and went into self-quarantine — with no answers for the 20-plus people he’d come in contact with prior to falling ill more than a week ago. His experience gives a window into the lack of testing available, just how few resources the hospital has to deal with this crisis, and how the recent influx of population on the Island could exacerbate the situation.

As the hospital had been largely locked down, the man queued up at a “small tent area” outside the emergency room.

People milled around close to the tent, he said, but eventually formed two lines, one for those with potential coronavirus symptoms, and one for all other medical needs.

“The lines [were] adjacent, directly next to each other,” he said. Many people in his line were coughing, he said. 

“It took two hours to be seen,” he said. The area was “really too crowded,” and there appeared to be no plan in place to police social distancing.

He recalled many Portuguese-speaking patients who had no help in communicating their medical conditions.“[The intake nurse] was doing the best she could,” he said.

Speaking to reporters during a conference call Monday, Claire Seguin, chief clinical and quality officer at the hospital, said she was not aware of the situation, but said the hospital has “carefully crafted triage protocol.”

Hospital officials have been open about the hospital’s ability to deal with the pandemic — particularly as seasonal residents came to the Island to ride out the virus. In a letter signed by CEO Denise Schepici, the hospital has urged visitors to “stay away” from the Island because of the lack of resources. In correspondence between Partners Healthcare — the parent company of Martha’s Vineyard Hospital — and the governor’s office, they’ve asked for assistance from the National Guard.

Once past the intake nurse, the man said, he was evaluated by a physician garbed head to toe in protective gear. 

Regarding the intake nurse, he said, “I felt so bad for her,” because she was under extraordinary pressure with limited resources.

Once before the doctor, his vitals were assessed. The doctor, he said, told the man he could go home and self-isolate — that the use of his inhaler would suffice.

The man said he asked to be tested for coronavirus, but was told he didn’t qualify. “There are some tests, very few, so we have to keep them for medical workers — people who’ve had known exposure to other carriers,” he recalled being told by the doctor.

“It was very frustrating,” he said. “There just aren’t enough tests for everybody.” The man faulted the Trump administration for the low availability of tests. 

Based on his symptoms going in — he had a temperature of 103° when he was evaluated over the phone — he believes he should have been tested.

“It would seem to me that if the only remedy is prevention, that we would want to spend the test on the mild cases, so they don’t in turn infect more vulnerable people,” he said. “There’s going to be a total catastrophe if this is the way they deal with the pandemic.”

The man, who is in his late 30s, was particularly critical of his age group’s acceptance of the pandemic. “My generation is just so entitled they just don’t think it can get them,” he said. 

He said he thought more testing of a broader swath of the population was a key element to solving the rolling outbreak. “The only solution is prevention, and that should be a priority,” he said. The man felt particularly bad for those who’d self-isolated because of contact with him, some of whom, he said, were separated from their kids. A test administered to him would have offered some degree of closure to them, he said. At least one person has come down with COVID-19 symptoms since coming into contact with him, he said. 

Hospital officials remind people not to just show up at the hospital with symptoms. They need to call a primary care physician and get a referral to the hospital.
“Whenever possible for the safety of patients and the safety of staff, we encourage people to stay at home and be managed at home,” Seguin said. “Instead of directing someone to go to the emergency department, we are trying really, really, hard to keep people home so that they’re not either coming to the hospital putting themselves at risk, or putting our staff at risk.”

28 replies on “One man’s attempt to be tested for COVID-19”

    1. Yes, really. Why do you think people can’t get tested? Why aren’t there enough tests?You understand that Trump lied for weeks on end about this virus, has no competency to deal with a crisis, will not order companies to make the needed protective equipment for our doctors and nurses, and is now threatening to ease up on the stay at home measures because it’s bad for businesses. Trump will go down in history as the chief executioner of the death panels.
      Best wishes for a full recovery to this young man. Can the paper tell us what line of work he is in?

      1. It’s an election year. Looks like the prophanda seems to be working. Great job everyone! We may not get the White House, but we may get the senate, and make Trump’s last four years miserable and kill any chance of a legacy because that’s what it’s all about, right?

    2. Didn’t Trump say three weeks ago that anyone who wanted a test could get one? Guess that’s why he’s the liar-in-chief.

  2. I am certain that grandfathers like me do not want for their children and grandchildren a country that has no economy to speak of and no opportunity and poverty and yes even more misery and deaths as a result of shutting down a huge economy in order to prevent a limited number of lives. When 98 percent of the people in the US wont get this virus and the ones that do most will recover it is a senseless pursuit to continue to shut down the country for much longer. There has to be a trade off somewhere along the line. Yes saving lives is worthy but the damage we are doing and will continue to do if we keep this up will devastate the lives of our next generation. The cure is worse than the disease. People die, all of us. we die in accidents in car crashes,in illnesses and in numbers far far greater than the lives lost to date with this virus and yet here we are shutting down everything and causing irreparable damage to the lives of people in our future. I am certain that people my age would forego their lives in a trade off in order to make their grandchildren have good futures.

    1. Andrew,I’m curious about where you found your claim that 98% of the people in the US won’t get the virus. Pretty much every medical expert thinks the number could be anywhere from 40 to 80% of US citizens. And while yes,the death rate is lower in people younger in age,in older people,which I assume you are because your a grandfather,could be as high as 60-80%.

          1. “…all those white, privileged, fake Christian, control freak SOBs to keep their hands off my uterus”. There, fixed it for you.

    2. Andrew . People my age will forego their lives for a better future for their grandchildren ?
      We won’t even give up our gas guzzling cars and private jets for our grandchildren.
      You don’t even want terminally ill people who are suffering in hospital beds with all sorts of devices keeping them “alive” to voluntarily end their lives with dignity. And how about people who are in persistent vegetative states ? Republican legislators deny the families the right or the dignity to allow these people to be with their creator. Unbelievable hypocrisy coming from you, of all people.

      If you want your grandchildren to have better lives, keep the economy shut down so your children will be able to learn from the accumulated wisdom of their elders.
      And the one really big benefit of shutting the economy down it that the amount of carbon and various pollutants we are putting into the atmosphere is waaaayyyy down. Good for old people with frail lungs, good for children with a hope for a future that is not devastated by climate change or a poisoned planet. .

    4. Andrew…stop right now. You know saving the life of one rich white person in MV life is worth the misery of all wirking class and middle class America…come on man. Get with the program.

  3. If you believe Trump is the problem then please refuse any money that comes from him. Don’t except help from his administration. People like you are the problem.

    1. No worries, the president and his party will try to make sure the average American receives as little as possible. Who was it that chose to get rid of an already established pandemic unit?

    2. I don’t believe the drop in the bucket any individual will get will help much. Right now it’s between $600 and $1200. There are all kinds of contingencies attached, too, but not for the billions that Repubs want big business to get. I wonder if, when sickness and bankrupcies hit enough of the Trump cult, if they would still vote for him. I consider this as the metaphor-as-reality of Trump standing on 5th Avenue and shooting people. His cult followers will support him anyway, through sickness and bankrupcy, and even giving up their lives for the grandchildren. Of course, if people like Andrew do succumb to this horrible disease, they won’t be able to vote for their savior and Biden will be in by a landslide. Funny. Not funny. Best of luck to you.
      And it’s “accept help”. Exception is what I take to foolish thinking.

      1. Biden…no, no, no…Bernie or Bloomberg as an independent. I like my Democrats as communist as possible. Biden makes Obama look like Ronald Reagan. Come man…even Obama didn’t back Biden. When they were in office, he kept sending Biden on wild goose chases around DC looking for left-handed pens and paper stretchers.

    4. mvp– the money you speak of is not coming from trump– it is coming from the taxes of hard working people, and in reality, the taxes your hard working children will be paying 20 years from now.

      1. mvp– and just for the record, do you really believe that trump has put nay money into the federal coffers in the last 20 years ?
        How would we know ?
        Well, we could lust look at his tax returns, as we have for every modern president.. Right– “promises broken” it the catchy phrase he uses , I think ???

  4. It’s a shame that he couldn’t get tested. Let’s not forget the good old flu is still in season as well. I somewhat agree with Andrew, we can’t kill our global economy, what good is being healthy, if I’ve lost everything because I can’t work? I’m not 25 with a whole lifetime of work ahead of me.

    1. Flu? What’s the flu? Get with the program…we’re calling it COVID19. Same symptoms just way more frightening and shakes money loose from the government. Bail out…Bail out…Bail out!

    1. Lisa, thats a shame that you weren’t able to be tested.

      It’s still amazing to me that MA doesn’t have enough tests available. Seattle, WA worked with the state health department to develop their own test because they couldn’t wait for the federal gov’t. Other entities have developed tests (Stanford University, etc.)

      With the technology available these days, why is it so hard to test someone??

Comments are closed.