Over 500 people given false Covid results in notification error by Public Health

Over 500 people have been notified of incorrect Covid results after taking a PCR test in the second error in less than a week. LATEST >>

540 people were incorrectly notified to quarantine after mistakenly being detected as a close contact during the processing of yesterday’s batch of RAT and Covid PCR tests.

The incorrect results were delivered by Public Health to a number of people when they actually should have been notified that they had returned a positive Covid test.

Acting State Health Commander Dale Webster said the error was corrected immediately after it was detected.

“The people who received the messages posed no risk as close contacts are required to quarantine. The follow-up messages advised them that they were positive and explained what is required to isolate,” he said.

“On behalf of the Department of Health, I apologise for the error and for any inconvenience caused to the recipients of the incorrect results.”

Dale Webster at the Executive Building Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The error is the second to occur within four days after over a dozen people received false negative results on Friday.

It comes as 1726 new cases were recorded overnight in Tasmania with 10,939 active cases currently across the state.

27 people are in hospital with Covid however only six patients are being treated specifically for the virus.

No one is in intensive care.