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A testing error at the English government-funded NHS testing and monitoring center has resulted in more than 1,300 people receiving false positives for COVID-19, Reuters reports.
The problem, allegedly caused by a batch of chemical tests, was an “isolated incident,” the lab claims.
NHS Test and Trace contacted 1,311 people who were wrongly told that the results of COVID-19 tests, carried out between November 19 and November 23, were positive. An issue with a batch of test chemicals meant their test results were zero, “a department spokesperson said. “Quick steps were taken to educate those affected and were asked to take another test and continue to self-isolate if they show symptoms.
Duncan Larcombe, whose daughter received one of the accidental results, told the BBC the incident was “more than an annoying mistake”, adding that it “calls into question whether this testing system is competent or no.”
The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs will ask all those affected by the error to take another COVID-19 test.
The NHS test and trace system has been controversial since major failures occurred earlier this year, including when nearly 16,000 positive records went missing for a few days in September, causing delays, Reuters reports.
England, which has recorded the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe, has abandoned its nationwide lockdown in favor of a strict tiered system.
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