Hundreds of patients were assured they didn’t have COVID-19 even when they had tested positive at a Sydney lab, although the virus was on the rise in the area. Therefore, these people received false COVID-19 results leading to havoc at the Sydney lab.
The issue occurred during the Christmas season and the reason behind it was a “data processing error.”
Following the emergence of the hyper-infectious Omicron variant, the number of infected people in the Australian state of New South Wales are increasing.
An increase in swabbing testing, according to officials, has resulted in significant backlogs.
Some people who have COVID-19 have voiced concern. They may have inadvertently infected their loved ones during the holiday season.
The SydPath lab issued an apology on Tuesday. It said that the error, which affected 886 people in total, occurred due to an “unprecedented” volume of tests.
It revealed earlier this week that it had misled 400 patients on Christmas Day that they didn’t have COVID-19. They didn’t find out about the error until the next day.
Simple data processing error
The error worsened when SydPath later disclosed that hundreds more people had been told they had tested negative before their findings were determined. The lab said on Tuesday that 486 people from this group had tested positive for COVID-19.
To deal with its increased workload, SydPath announced in a recent statement that it has switched from an automatic to a manual system.
“Unfortunately… a simple data processing error was made which led to the wrong test results being released,” it said.
SydPath said it had returned to its automated approach. Also, it would restrict the quantity of COVID-19 swabs it processed to maintain the testing’s quality.
False Covid results cause: Pathology labs and overcrowding
Sydney resident Stephanie Colonna was one of those affected. She told the Today Show she was now anxious about her family. (Ultram) “That’s what scares me and worries me. If (my niece and nephew) are positive, I’m the one to blame because I’ve infected them now,” she said.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard stated the mix-up occurred because pathology labs were “exhausted.”
The demand for testing services in NSW has been extremely high. Many people have complained about clinics turning them away due to overcrowding. Others have complained about long delays for test results.
The daily average for COVID-19 testing in NSW has been over 145,000 swabs every day for the past seven days, up from 117,000 the week before.
NSW government withdrew some COVID-19 limitations earlier in December. But now, the NSW government reinstated them again.
Separately, police in South Australia have charged a 19-year-old man with disobeying a healthcare authority’s order to isolate him. Despite testing positive for COVID-19, he went to a nightclub in Adelaide.