Premiership sticks with Randox swab test kits

Premiership Rugby has insisted its Covid-19 testing programme, carried out by Randox Health, is not affected by the Government calling for the public and care homes to stop using tests made by the company because of safety fears.

Matt Hancock, the Health and Social Care secretary, told MPS on Thursday that swabs provided by the company had been identified as “not up to the usual high standard”.

“While we investigate further, we’re requesting that the use of these Randox swab test kits is paused in all settings until further notice,” Hancock said. “Clinical advice is that there is no evidence of any harm, the test results are not affected.”

However Premiership Rugby insists its programme with the company, which is costing £100,000 per week to test around 800 players and staff in their 12 clubs, is not affected, after demanding reassurances from the company.

“We can confirm that our club testing programme is unaffected by the decision,” a Premiership Rugby spokesman said.

“The sample collection kits provided to Randox Health’s private customers use a different supplier of swabs than the kits used within the national testing programme.”

Randox, which produces the testing kits for members of the public and care homes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, won the contract to carry out testing of Premiership rugby players as they returned to contact training.

Clubs and players have been reassured that the swabs used for their testing are not in question.

A Randox Health spokesperson said: “We can confirm that our contract with Premiership Rugby is unaffected by the decision to temporarily suspend distribution of sample collection kits within the national testing programme.

“The sample collection kits provided to our private customers use a different supplier of swabs than the kits used within the national testing programme.”

This week’s tests were carried out on Monday among 856 players and club staff, with nine people, including seven players, testing positive.

Last week, in its first round of testing, conducted on July 6 while clubs were still in stage one of return to play, 10 positive cases came back out of a total of 805 personnel tested.