NOT GOOD

San Antonio City Officials Fail to Get Restraining Order to Keep Cruise Ship Evacuees Quarantined

San Antonio sought a preliminary injunction to require three coronavirus tests for quarantined individuals before they are released.

San Antonio officials failed to get a temporary restraining order to keep cruise ship evacuees quarantined after a woman was released from quarantine and later determined to be infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus. According to the San Antonio Express-News, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez denied the request on Monday—ruling that the federal requirements for a 14-day quarantine and two negative tests for the virus were “sufficient to prevent transmission or spread of COVID-19.” 

Earlier Monday, city officials sued the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal officials, seeking a preliminary injunction that would require three negative tests and a longer quarantine period before evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship were released. The action came after a woman in the San Antonio area was released from quarantine on Saturday, having testing negative on two coronavirus tests. However, a third test came back positive—with the results arriving subsequent to her release. “This person visited a local mall, ate at its food court, and spent a few hours among other persons, potentially exposing the public to the virus,” the lawsuit said.

On Sunday, the CDC said the woman met their “criteria for release” and was “asymptomatic” at the time. The agency also said they’ve had instances before where “test results have alternated back and forth between negative and positive.”