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Washington psychiatric hospital staff say virus tests unsafe

Washington psychiatric hospital staff say virus tests unsafe
Posted at 11:15 AM, Apr 28, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-28 13:15:56-04

SEATTLE (AP) — Workers exposed to the coronavirus at a troubled psychiatric hospital in Washington state tell The Associated Press that a flawed testing process likely produced inaccurate results and exposed them to the virus again.

They say they were crowded into a small space where few wore masks and told to swirl a swab inside their noses.

The method is meant only for people showing symptoms, and the staffers say none of them did.

They say it's another failure to protect staff and patients.

The facility has a pattern of attacks and lost its federal funding after multiple investigations.

Officials defend the test as accurate and say they're working to regain employees' trust.