LONDON (AP) – The British government has launched an investigation into how nearly 16,000 new coronavirus infections were reported as a result of a technical glitch, failing which could spur new outbreaks, which critics say could easily spiral out of control.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told lawmakers Monday that the problem is related to “automatic transfer of files.” The problem is believed to be linked to file size limitations on Excel spreadsheets used in the test and trace program.
“This is a serious issue that is being fully investigated,” Hancock said. “Now it’s important that we work together to keep it true and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Hancock’s appearance in the House of Commons was revealed over the weekend or Sept. As many as 15,841 cases of the virus were not reported between October 25 and Oct. Although positive testers were told about their condition, their contacts – possibly about 50,000 people – were not found, a failure that could have led to the virus developing.
He said that 1% of the positive testers of this test have been contacted again and their contacts have been reached immediately after that.
Despite adding a lot of new cases, he said the government’s chief medical officer had not “significantly changed” about the course of the epidemic in Europe, which, like other countries in Europe, is on the other end of the virus.
Jonathan Ashworth, Hancock’s counterpart in the main opposition Labor Party, said the failure showed how the Conservative government planned to fight the epidemic and that the latest problem with the country’s test regime was “life-threatening”.
Legislators from all parties have criticized Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government for its lack of testing capacity, which means some people have been told to travel hundreds of miles for testing, and people have been delayed in notifying their test results.
The latest problem seems to have been caused by an Excel file max out during the Excel tomated process. Although consumer software is predominant in consumer settings, experts say it has many limitations for use in many grand projects.
John Crockroff, a professor of communications systems at Cambridge University, said: “If this Excel is being reported, then Excel’s limitations, which are usually a very appropriate part of software, are known in terms of big data.”
For the test and trace program to work well, contacts should be notified as soon as possible within priority hours. The failure of the authorities to inform people exposed to the virus, therefore, can lead to many more positive cases and then the need for the government to impose more undesirable restrictions on daily life.
Ashworth condemned the government for its recent failure on “the most crucial issues of the epidemic,” adding that it was happily unaware of the contacts of new cases without noticing they had been exposed to COVID, possibly spreading the deadly virus. Hospital admissions are on the rise and we are in another wave. ”
“It’s not just shivering – it’s a lot worse than that – and I have no consolation in saying this, but it’s life threatening,” Eshworth added.
The number of unregistered cases over the weekend has been added to the government’s daily new infections, with the number rising to 12,872 on Saturday and 22,961 on Sunday. That was up from an average of 1,000,000 new cases the day before. The number of new cases registered on Monday dropped to 12,594, but given the adjustments regarding missing cases, it was impossible to find a trend.
Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at East Anglia University, called the mistake “very disappointing.”
“In order for the test, track and trace system to have a real impact on reducing the transmission of Covid-1 of, it is essential that test results be delivered quickly,” he said.
The UK, like many other countries in Europe, has seen an increase in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, prompting the government to announce a series of national and local bans on the infection. The new rules limit the number of people allowed to gather and impose curfews on pubs.
The UK has the highest number of virus-related deaths in Europe at around 4,400. The government’s chief scientific adviser warned two weeks ago that the country could end 1,000,000 new cases a day by mid-October if more sanctions are not lifted, leading to hundreds of daily deaths a month later.
Confusion over daily test numbers increases the uncertainty over whether restrictions are in place to stem the virus.
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