Agency ‘looking into cause’ of rise in false positive Covid tests

PUBLIC Health England has confirmed it is “looking into the cause” of a number of false positive Covid test results across England.

Reports had emerged claiming that a “high number” of people in the South West had reported testing positive for Covid through lateral flow tests, but then testing negative after a full PCR test.

The i reported on Thursday, October 7 that Public Health England (PHE) were investigating a rise in these false positive tests in the South West, having not experienced people testing positive on lateral flows and then negative on PCRs on such a scale before.

It was further claimed that the issue had been reported in Bath, Bristol and Swindon as well as further afield across southern England.

The false positive tests had given rise to concerns over faults in the testing kits still being provided to thousands of people across the whole of England.

Public Health England has now confirmed that it is “looking into the cause” of the issue, confirming that it had been made aware of areas across England reporting the discrepancy in results.

Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, said: “We have been made aware of some areas reporting positive LFD test results with subsequent negative PCR tests and we are looking into the cause.

“If you get a positive LFD test, it’s important to make sure that you then get a follow-up PCR test to confirm you have Covid-19.

“If you have symptoms of Covid19, self-isolate and take a PCR test. With any test it is important to carefully read and follow the instructions for use on the test kit so as to avoid any incorrect readings.”

The agency further stated that there was currently no evidence that there are any technical issues with LFD or PCR test kits in relation to the reports, but advised all people to carefully read and follow the instructions for use on the test kit so as to avoid any incorrect readings.

Despite this, Public Health England has acknowledged that no test for Covid is guaranteed to be 100 per cent accurate, even if chances of a false positive result remain low.

The reported rise in false positive test results had also led to speculation over whether a new variant of the virus had emerged in the UK, but Public Health England says there is currently no evidence on the emergence of new variants, with all variants having been tested against the current lateral flow tests.

The discrepancies have caused concern because NHS advice allows people not to isolate after a negative PCR test.