Almost 30,000 Covid-19 UK tests voided after being sent to the US

A batch sent to the US had to be voided
AP
Ellena Cruse4 June 2020

Thousands of people will have to be retested for Covid-19 after a batch of swabs sent to the US was affected by a processing issue.

The Government confirmed that almost 30,0000 kits from the UK had to be voided on their return to the country.

All the individuals affected by the error have been notified and have been offered a new test.

The news comes as Baroness Dido Harding, head of the NHS Test and Trace programme , was challenged over the risks of false-negative tests when she appeared before the Health and Social Care Select Committee.

According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, 67,000 coronavirus test samples were sent overseas early last month following capacity issues at a laboratory in Northern Ireland.

A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokeswoman has confirmed that 29,500 of those samples were voided upon their return to the UK, meaning all those people had to be tested again.

“We worked hard to get complete tests for people under difficult circumstances," she said.

Technicians at a testing facility in Brazil
AFP via Getty Images

"In many cases that worked and we are grateful for the team for their efforts. But in some cases, it didn’t, and the correct judgment was made to void the tests.

“Everyone affected was offered a new test immediately and we worked quickly to restore full capacity in the UK.”

The Telegraph report said part of the problem could relate to the different standards of equipment used in the US.

The DHSC spokeswoman added that sending swabs overseas was one of the contingencies in place to deal with any problems arising from the nation’s Lighthouse test processing network. She also said the US laboratory has not been used for further surge capacity since.

Samples are tested in a machine
AFP via Getty Images

At the Health and Social Care Select Committee on Wednesday, former health secretary and committee chairman Jeremy Hunt asked about evidence from the University of Bristol and Johns Hopkins University in the US which suggests 20 per cent of negative results could be false.

Mr Hunt said: “Now the guidance, as I understand it at the moment, is that if you call in with symptoms and your test comes back negative, the guidance says that you and other household members no longer need to self-isolate.

“But we know from Bristol University and Johns Hopkins University that up to 20 per cent of test results are false negatives – so that people actually have Covid-19 but the test says they don’t.

“Why does the guidance then ask those people to have another test?”

Baroness Harding said that the question is one for medical and scientific experts but added: “I think we all do recognise that there is error in the testing system but current guidance is exactly as you set out, and that’s what we’re building the service to deliver.”

Mr Hunt questioned why people are not offered a second test if they have tested negative “because we wouldn’t want people going back into the community if they could be spreading it”.

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Baroness Harding added: “My understanding of the guidance is that if, after having a negative test, you and your household are free to go back into normal life but if you do continue to feel unwell after a couple of days we would advise you to stay at home and take another test in a few days’ time.

“We are not short on testing capacity and actually I want people who are not feeling well to feel really confident that they can book a test.”

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