Still in a biohazard bag, an apparently-used COVID-19 test turned up in a Kohl’s shipment in Illinois.
Andrea Ellis ordered flags from Kohl’s for her grandmother’s garden, and as she wrapped gifts for Christmas, she uncovered the COVID-19 test in the package shipped from Richmond, Virginia.
“I pulled out the flags and I told my aunt, ‘Look how cute these are,’” Ellis, of East Moline, told the Quad-City Times. “I pulled out the packing slip and then noticed something deeper inside the envelope and pulled that out. It was a biohazard bag containing someone’s COVID-19 test specimen.”
Ellis tracked down the woman who took the COVID-19 test on LinkedIn, but hadn’t heard back as of press time. The woman’s name and other information was on the side of the envelope, according to the Quad-City Times.
The local police department referred Ellis to the health department.
Rock Island County Health Department Chief Operating Officer Janet Hill told the Associated Press that she picked up the biohazard bag with the apparently-used nasal swab and is determining next steps.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this,” Hill told the AP. “I want this person to know that the test has not been done yet.”
Without providing further information, Kohl’s apologized in a statement on Monday (December 21). Spokespeople of the department store called the incident a “very unusual and inexplicable experience.” The package shipped from an “outside direct ship vendor,” not from Kohl’s.
The vice president of Kohl’s aims to communicate further information to Ellis, she told the Quad-City Times.
“I don’t know how this ended up in my shipment,” Ellis told the local publication, noting that she would also continue efforts to contact the woman. “I don’t know what to do except try and contact this woman.”
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