Staff members at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, were refused tests for COVID-19 after having direct contact with Americans infected with the coronavirus.
The staff had been working with Americans who at the time were quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship when they came in contact with dozens of people infected by the contagious virus last month. According to a Wednesday report from the Daily Beast, the workers were not allowed to get tested for the virus unless they showed symptoms of infection.
U.S. Embassy Tokyo Deputy Consul General Timothy Smith told staff members that they would not be receiving tests in the embassy and instructed them not to seek testing from outside the facility despite their work with the cruise ship passengers. The vessel carried more than 700 travelers and crew members who tested positive for the illness, including six who later died.
American employees got within arm’s length of infected travelers and were not separated by glass or curtains while working with them. Those who then asked to be tested were told they must present symptoms, including a high fever, first.
One employee expressed concern, saying, “It makes people nervous to know there may be infected co-workers walking around the embassy. We don’t want to ostracize them, but we keep hearing of people who tested negative later turning out to be infected. These people haven’t even been tested — ever.”
The State Department responded to reports about Smith’s decision, saying, “Throughout this crisis, we have continuously worked hard to ensure the safety of our staff, including through training and the provision of appropriate personal protective equipment by U.S. government medical professionals. All health and safety protocols have been strictly followed.”
The department added, “All health and safety protocols have been strictly followed in accordance with U.S. and local requirements and standards. If required, any testing would be done in coordination and consultation with health authorities.”
The statement, however, did not directly address whether staff needed to present symptoms of the illness before being tested despite the weekslong incubation period the novel coronavirus can have.
The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in Japan similarly refused to test staff members who had worked on the cruise ship. Now, 10 of the 90 officials who visited the ship have been diagnosed with COVID-19 after returning to work, possibly infecting additional people in the department.
One anonymous State Department official said American employees were not tested because of reports of limited tests and because the United States did not want to upset the Japanese ministry. The person said, “The CDC information kept changing. We were told they didn’t have enough testing kits and that effectively, they were already conducting triage. Thus: no symptoms, no test, no problems.”
The official continued, “We reached out to the Japanese Ministry of Health and were more or less rebuffed. We were told that it would be awkward if we tested our employees while the Ministry of Health was refusing to test staff that had been involved in the quarantine.”
None of the U.S. Embassy employees who visited the ship have presented symptoms of the disease after first boarding on Feb. 10, but they could still have the illness and be unaware: The incubation period can be as long as 27 days.
American travelers aboard the ship were eventually evacuated and returned to the U.S. after it became clear the quarantine plan had made the problem significantly worse.
