20 deaths are linked to blunder in Covid test lab

A BLUNDER at a lab which saw thousands of positive Covid-19 cases reported as negative could have led to the deaths of 20 people, according to new estimates.

The error at the Wolverhampton lab meant that around 39,000 PCR tests were reported as negative when they should have been positive between September 2 and October 12, 2021 – mostly in the south-west of England.

As a result, many people would have continued with their daily lives and not self-isolated, even though they had Covid-19.

Experts from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have estimated that the blunder led to about 55,000 additional infections.

They estimated that each person who received a false negative result went on to infect around two other people on average.

Researchers also estimated that there were about 680 additional hospital admissions “that may not otherwise have occurred”.

“Similarly, we estimate that there may have been just over 20 additional deaths in these most affected areas,” they added.

NHS Test and Trace suspended testing operations provided by Immensa Health Clinic Ltd at its laboratory in Wolverhampton in October 2021 following reports of inaccurate results.

An investigation into the blunder, conducted by the UKHSA, concluded that the error occurred because staff at the lab set the threshold levels for reporting positive and negative results incorrectly.

Richard Gleave, UKHSA director and lead investigator, said: “It is our view that there was no single action that NHS Test and Trace could have taken differently to prevent this error arising in the private laboratory.”