COVID-19 lab mix-up leads to 31 incorrect test results

A Hamilton COVID-19 lab says it mixed up 31 test results.

In a release Sunday evening, the Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program (HRLMP) said a “processing error” led to 16 COVID- positive people being told they were negative and 15 who were COVID- negative being told they were positive.

The tests were administered in Hamilton, Burlington and surrounding area on Dec. 30 and 31. They were processed at HRLMP, a joint program run by St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Health Sciences.

All 31 people — including 15 who live in Hamilton — have been contacted and provided with their true result, the release states.

Asked for more information, St. Joe’s spokesperson Maria Hayes said the lab started investigating after one person was retested on Jan. 5 and received a different result.

“This prompted an in-depth investigation and retesting of a specific batch of specimens,” Hayes said. When the investigation wrapped up three days later, on Jan. 8, “it was determined that a total 31 tests were reported incorrectly.”

Those affected were contacted within 24 hours of the error being confirmed.

“We sincerely apologize for the impact on those who have received incorrect test results,” said Dr. Marek Smieja, interim chief of HRLMP, in the release.

The “processing error” was determined to be “a labelling/ tracking issue within the lab that affected a batch of tests,” Hayes said.

Hayes confirmed each individual would have received their initial test result — the wrong one — within 24 hours of being tested. That means some may have spent a week incorrectly thinking they were positive or negative before knowing their true results.

Asked if Hamilton public health had concerns the 15 Hamiltonians affected — including those who were actually positive but initially told they were negative — could have spread the virus, spokesperson Jacqueline Durlov said: “no ill-effects have been identified.”

“This posed no additional risk to the public,” Durlov said.

Asked if public health was concerned the mixup occurred, Durlov said: “Due to the number of tests that are processed in a day some level of error is expected. We are thankful that our partners at HRLMP were able to catch and correct this error.”