LettersHow coronavirus panic is spreading an outbreak of selfishness

There is also another kind of selfishness. A 60-year-old woman who had been exposed to a confirmed coronavirus case developed fever and a sore throat. Despite not being critically unwell, she insisted that an ambulance deliver her to our Emergency Department isolation room for Covid-19 testing. An ambulance crew, wearing protective gear, notified the department of her arrival. Her respiratory samples were obtained and she was assessed as not requiring in-hospital care.

She asked that an ambulance crew take her home. After being told that ambulances were a scarce community resource, she decided to order an Uber to drive her home, without revealing that she had suspected corona infection. Although she wore a mask, she had no qualms about exposing an Uber driver to possible cross-infection during the hour-long drive home.

We convinced her to go to a railway station and take a (hopefully) empty train carriage home, as it was late at night. This option seemed the least harmful, though it still carried some risk of contagion.

Joseph Ting, adjunct associate professor, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane