Thousands of people, especially in the south west of England, then ended their self-isolation and stopped testing themselves, the UKHSA said on Tuesday. As a result, another 55,000 people would probably have become infected with the virus. The error led to an estimated increase of 680 hospitalizations and an increase of more than 20 deaths. The report spoke of human error.
Each false negative test likely led to more than two additional infections. Between September 2 and October 12, 2021, there were approximately 39,000 tests. The private laboratory in the city of Wolverhampton had examined a total of about 400,000 tests. The company, which was only registered in the UK in May 2020 after the start of the pandemic, was awarded a £119 million (135.5 million Swiss francs) contract by the government without tender, and a further £50 million later for additional PCR tests.
(SDA)