A Canadian tourist’s stop at a Capitol Hill minute clinic is part of a roster of locations around Seattle and King County that health officials are warning about after the man was diagnosed with measles.
(Image: Immediate Clinic)
According to the announcement from King County Public Health, the infected man visited the Immediate Clinic in the 1500 block of Broadway between Pike and Pine on Friday, April 26th starting around 11 AM. “These times include the period when the person was at the location and two hours after,” the bulletin reads. “Measles virus can remain in the air for up to two hours after someone infectious with measles leaves the area.”
Officials says anybody at the clinic around that day and time should check up on their measles vaccination and “call a health care provider promptly if they develop an illness with fever or illness with an unexplained rash between April 27 and May 19, 2019.”
“To avoid possibly spreading measles to other patients, do not go to a clinic or hospital without calling first to tell them you want to be evaluated for measles,” they warn.
While the chances are low of somebody becoming ill from the brief Capitol Hill visit, the incident adds to concerns about a rise in measles-related cases after an outbreak earlier this year in Oregon and Washington.
In response to the concerns, Washington state lawmakers have passed a new bill limiting parental ability to claim a personal or philosophical exemption from vaccinating children for measles.
For more information about measles and measles vaccination, visit kingcounty.gov/measles.
