The Excel error has caused nearly 16,000 new Covid-19 infections in the UK to go unreported

A day after the British government announced the record high number of new Covid-19 infections in the country, the cause behind it was revealed. According to reports from the Daily Mail, The Independent and Evening Standard, the Microsoft Excel program used by laboratories to store test results has reached its maximum data limit and has not added additional data. new.

This means that there may have been about 15,841 new infections between September 25 and October 2 that were not included in the UK government’s Covid-19 datasheet.

The British Public Health Agency (PHE) did not confirm the omission was the fault of the Excel program, instead claiming that a “technical error” in its “loading process” caused confusion. this. The Microsoft Excel program can hold 16,384 columns and 1,048,576 rows. While the exact number of the data entered is not disclosed, it is this Excel limitation that is responsible for the lack of data on the new cases.

After replenishing the missing data, the UK’s number of new infections a few days ago rose to thousands a day.

On September 30, the number of new infections post-correction was 10,157, instead of 7,108 as before. On October 1, the number of new infections was 11,057, instead of 6,914 as before. On October 2, the number of new infections was 11,754, instead of 6,968 as before.

Despite a delay in reporting new Covid-19 cases, all positive people received test results and were instructed to quarantine when necessary, PHE said. Even so, ignoring thousands of such cases would also make the UK government’s “Tests and Follow” efforts less effective.

Refer to Engadget