UK testing mistake incorrectly informs 1,300 individuals they have coronavirus

( Reuters) – Over 1,300 people in Britain were inaccurately notified they were infected with coronavirus after a lab mistake at the government’s NHS Test and Trace system, the Department of Health and Social Care informed Reuters on Saturday.

A healthcare assistant stands in a fog tunnel designed to eliminate bacteria at The Chiswick Nursing Centre which has presented a coronavirus test with outcomes prepared in thirty minutes, following the break out of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in London, Britain, November 26,2020 REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

” NHS Test and Trace has contacted 1,311 individuals who were incorrectly told that the outcome of COVID-19 tests, taken in between Nov. 19 and Nov. 23, were favorable. A problem with a batch of testing chemicals indicated their test outcomes were void,” a department spokesman stated in an emailed declaration.

” Swift action was required to alert those affected and they have actually been asked to take another test, and to continue to self-isolate if they have symptoms.”

The laboratory mistake that caused the problem was an “separated event” and was being examined, the statement stated.

The government has revealed an extra 7 billion pounds ($ 9.31 billion) for its COVID-19 testing and contact tracing system as part of an expanded programme of mass screening.

The NHS Test and Trace system has actually been greatly criticised after a series of high-profile failures because its launch earlier this year, and ministers yield it has actually not carried out in addition to they had actually hoped.

In September, almost 16,000 favorable case records were lost from the system for a number of days– causing a hold-up in contact tracing. The government blamed a “tradition” file system that cut off records after about 65,000 rows of information.

Reuters analysis and interviews with contact tracers have actually revealed issues with the system, and that when taking a look at non-household contacts, the percentage that is effectively traced is lower.

The United Kingdom has had about 1.6 million coronavirus cases and over 57,500 deaths, according to a Reuters tally tmsnrt.rs/ 3cBeEYg

($ 1 = 0.7517 pounds)

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mike Harrison

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