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A26 U.S. NEWS
Monday 25 May 2020
CDC, states’ reporting of virus test data causes confusion

By MICHELLE R. SMITH tests made the decline look
Associated Press steeper.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Some states combined re-
Elected officials, businesses sults only briefly and say it
and others are depend- was unintentional. Dela-
ing on coronavirus testing ware said it has "shifted
and infection-rate data as focus" from reporting anti-
states reopen so that they body tests and toward viral
will know if a second wave tests as they have become
of contagion is coming more available follow-
— and whether another ing nationwide shortages.
round of stay-at-home or- Maine, Texas, Vermont
ders or closings might be and Virginia say they have
needed. stopped lumping results
But states are reporting together, and Georgia is
those figures in different working on a fix.
ways, and that can lead But in Mississippi and Penn-
to frustration and confu- sylvania, the practice con-
sion about what the num- tinues. In Georgia, antibody
bers mean. In some plac- tests were about 14% of
es, there have been data the total, while in Mississip-
gaps that leave local lead- pi, officials said they were
ers wondering whether around 3%. It's not clear to
they should loosen or tight- what extent the practice
en restrictions. In others, of- In this May 14, 2020, file photo, Jerry A Mann, center, is held by his grandmother, Sylvia Rubio, as is clouding the national
ficials are accused of spin- he is tested for COVID-19 by the San Antonio Fire Department at a free walk-up test site in San picture. The CDC told AP
Antonio.
ning the numbers to make Associated Press. it knew of nine states that
their states look better and submitted viral and anti-
justify reopening. lic health experts say. That electronic reporting system "Hindsight is 20/20," he said. body test data together,
In a continuing theme for allows for tracking of how that had been developed AP found at least nine but the list included some
the outbreak in the United many people have con- for other diseases. At the states are similarly mixing states that say they report
States, a lack of federal firmed active infections, time, nearly all lab results results or have done so at those numbers separately,
leadership persists. Even the percentage of people being reported were from some point. They include including Alabama and
the U.S. Centers for Disease testing positive and how live viral testing. But in the Arizona, where Gov. Doug Kansas.
Control and Prevention those numbers change ensuing weeks, antibody Ducey used a graph show- The CDC also gave the AP
has been lumping togeth- over time — all crucial for tests expanded and CDC ing a declining rate of posi- a list of 18 states it said had
er tests that measure differ- guiding public policy. officials realized they had tive tests earlier this month reported viral tests only, but
ent things. Mixing the results makes it a growing number of those when he announced that that list included Pennsylva-
Such errors render the CDC difficult to understand how mixing in with the viral re- barbers, salons and restau- nia, Virginia and Vermont,
numbers about how many the virus is spreading. It can sults, the CDC's Dr. Daniel rants could reopen. all of which have said they
Americans are infected give the false impression Pollock said. Ducey did not disclose mixed the two kinds of tests
"uninterpretable," creating that the rate of positive test Pollock said officials are during the televised news together.
a misleading picture for results is declining. working to separate the conference that the figures Maine officials say it's not
people trying to make de- The CDC told The Associ- data, but it is a labor-inten- combined diagnostic and possible to release total test
cisions based on the data, ated Press on Friday that sive process that could take antibody tests. Positive re- numbers more than once
said Ashish Jha, director the problem started sev- another week or two. He sults from diagnostic tests a week because the data
of Harvard's Global Health eral weeks ago when the acknowledged the agen- were declining, according must be collected from
Institute,"It is incumbent on agency began collecting cy could have moved to fix to published state data, multiple outside labs doing
health departments and data from states using an the problem sooner. but adding the antibody the tests. q
the CDC to make sure
they're presenting informa-
tion that's accurate. And if Illinois child welfare employee investigated after boy dies
they can't get it, then don't
show the data at all," Jha CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. (AP) — Illinois pros- into a bruised hip that Andrew "A.J." mains jailed on $5 million bond while
said. "Faulty data is much, ecutors are investigating a former Freund had almost four months be- awaiting trial. The search warrant af-
much worse than no data." child welfare agency employee who fore authorities believe the boy was fidavit alleges that Polovin allowed
Officials at the CDC and supervised an abuse claim involving killed in his family's Crystal Lake home. protective custody of A.J. to lapse
in multiple states have a 5-year-old suburban Chicago boy Polovin and the child protection spe- before conducting a proper investi-
acknowledged that they later found beaten to death, docu- cialist assigned to check a Decem- gation. It also says he left out a Crystal
combined the results of ments show. ber 2018 call from Crystal Lake police Lake police report and other records
viral tests, which detect Prosecutors are exploring whether to about the boy's injury were later fired from A.J.'s file.
active cases of the virus charge Andrew Polovin with child en- from the state agency. The boy gave varying explanations
essentially from the onset dangerment related to Andrew "A.J." Polovin has not spoken publicly about for the hip bruise, including that the
of infection, with antibody Freund, The Northwest Herald report- the case and the newspaper could family dog had done it during play.
tests, which check for pro- ed. McHenry County state's attorney not reach him for comment about But records show he also told an
teins that develop a week investigator Robert Diviacchi filed a the affidavit. emergency room doctor, "Maybe
or more after infection and search warrant affidavit this month A.J. was found in a shallow grave in mommy didn't mean to hurt me."
show whether a person has seeking Polovin's personnel files, train- April 2019. His parents, JoAnn Cun- Diviacchi alleged in his affidavit that
been exposed at some ing transcripts and employee evalu- ningham and Andrew Freund Sr., Polovin failed to take several steps
point in the past. ations. Polovin was a Department of were charged with killing him. Cun- before the boy was allowed to return
Viral test results should be Children and Family Services supervi- ningham pleaded guilty to first-de- home, including examining the house
reported separately, pub- sor who closed a 2018 investigation gree murder last year, and Freund re- and interviewing A.J'.'s father.q