Almost 8,000 Missed U.K. Covid Cases Not Yet Reached by Tracers
U.K.’s Covid Test-and-Trace System Omits More Than 15,000 Cases
(Bloomberg) -- Almost 8,000 people whose positive coronavirus tests were left off official records due to “technical issues” had still not been contacted by the U.K.’s test-and-trace program on Monday.
It means the government remains unaware of potentially tens of thousands of people who have unknowingly come into close contact with people carrying Covid-19, raising fears that the computer error- -- which authorities became aware of late Friday -- may have led to many more infections.
The government is investigating how 15,841 positive coronavirus test results between Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 were not reported in the daily figures -- and, critically, were not passed onto the tracing program. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons on Monday there had been a failure in the “automated transfer of files” from laboratories to Public Health England.
Those who tested positive were informed of their results but were not then called by tracers -- meaning anyone who they’ve had close contact with has also not received instructions to self-isolate. Scientific experts say that must happen within 48 hours for a test-and-trace program to be effective.
Hancock said that 51% of the missed cases had been reached as of 9 a.m. on Monday, and efforts to call their contacts are underway.
‘Serious’
“This is a serious issue which is being investigated fully,” Hancock told members of Parliament. “This incident should never have happened but the team have acted swiftly to mitigate its impact.”
The data error risks further undermining trust in the U.K.’s coronavirus strategy, as Boris Johnson’s government battles criticism on a slew of issues from lack of testing capacity to mixed-messaging and last-minute lockdowns. The prime minister apologized last week for people’s “bad experiences” with the testing system, and on Sunday acknowledged it needs improvement.
In Parliament, Labour’s health spokesman, Jonathan Ashworth, said the data glitch had put lives at risk, with “thousands of people blissfully unaware they have been exposed to Covid.”
‘Overwhelmed’
Former Conservative Cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt, who chairs the Commons health committee, said the centralized testing laboratories had been “overwhelmed by demand,” and urged the government to move National Health Service and care home testing into hospitals and university facilities this winter.
Hancock told MPs contact tracers are working extra shifts to tackle the backlog of missed cases. He also said the error had “not substantially changed” the government’s assessment of Covid levels in the U.K., and did not impact the basis for decisions to impose local lockdowns in northern England last week.
The technical issue was caused by some data files being too big to be uploaded onto the government’s central database, which meant daily figures reported over the period were lower than they should have been. As the missed cases are added, the daily total has surged, with 22,961 in Sunday’s data.
‘Full Confidence’
Earlier on Monday, Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack, said the prime minister still had “full confidence” in Dido Harding, head of the test-and-trace program.
Johnson told reporters on Monday that the coming week would show whether recent restrictions, including the so-called rule of six on social gatherings, are having an effect.
Though the test-and-trace system has improved in some areas, it’s still falling short on key metrics -- in particular the goal of tracing 80% of people who have been in close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case. Scientists say that’s necessary to lower the coronavirus transmission rate.
In the most recent data, 71.3% of positive cases were reached to request a list of contacts, and of those provided, 71.6% were notified and told to self-isolate.
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