Patient-zero drill put health facilities to the test—40% of them failed

Actors with makeup and fake symptoms staggered into 73 healthcare facilities.

The short version

• COVID-19 made the weaknesses in our pandemic preparedness at national and global levels painfully clear.
• But a new study highlights that even at the first, local steps of an outbreak with pandemic-potential, we are worryingly underprepared.
• Health officials in New York set up a regional test of healthcare facilities to identify and respond to a patient with a mystery infection that could pose a pandemic-level threat.

What happened

Overall, responses were slow, appropriate use of personal protective equipment was spotty, and only 60 percent of facilities passed the basics of the test—an overall failing grade. To pass the test, a healthcare facility needed to mask the patient and put them in an isolation room.

Why it matters

Ideally, the masking would occur within a minute or less of the patient walking in, and isolation would occur in 10 minutes or less.

Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.