This weekend, a federal court ordered immediate changes for patients at St. Elizabeths Hospital including isolating those exposed to COVID-19. Prior to this order, the hospital quarantined all patients suspected of exposure together, and returned patients to the general population after just one negative test result, a practice the court called “contrary to accepted professional standards.”

COVID-19 has now killed 9 patients and 2 staff members after St. Elizabeths failed to take even the most basic measures to stop the virus from spreading.

“The patients in the St. Elizabeths Hospital are confined for psychiatric treatment and care. As COVID-19 sweeps through the Hospital they lack the ability to protect themselves and are entirely dependent on the Hospital.. At the same time that the danger of being in the Hospital increased, psychiatric treatment diminished, causing significant further harm. This order is an important first step to protecting the lives and rights of more than 200 patients.” –  Kaitlin Banner, Deputy Legal Director

This court order is in response to our motion for emergency relief filed April 16 in our suit against St. Elizabeths together with the ACLU of DC and Arnold and Porter.