Tens of thousands of coronavirus tests have been double-counted

[Crewella]

This is why I'm confused. The count should be "patients/people tested" and nothing to do with tests carried out, or counting kits used. Right now numbers don't add up. Seems like there's a game of Find The Lady with these numbers. Double-counting should not be possible.

Agreed.

 

[Bean0]

The numbers have been like this for ages
The count of tests is always higher than the count of peopple tested.

From almost a month ago...

I don't see why this is news now.

 

[Crewella]

The numbers have been like this for ages
The count of tests is always higher than the count of peopple tested.

From almost a month ago...

I don't see why this is news now.

No it's not that, I don't think - obviously some people, especially health care workers, are likely to be tested more than once ............. this seems to be something different?

 

[nordelen]

It's not not new. A certain number of tests will be unusable/soiled (fell on the floor, damaged in transit etc). Sometimes obtaining one sample will take three kits ( a proper throat swab? ). This is why I'm much more interested in people tested.

 

[Bean0]

No it's not that, I don't think - obviously some people, especially health care workers, are likely to be tested more than once ............. this seems to be something different?

If they are tested every week or so, then surely they would be a +1 on the total and people tested on each day they are tested ?
I understood that the total is higher than the people due to failed/lost/inconclusive tests needing to be redone.

Seems the media have been ignoring the people number and reporting on the total number, and are now finding a reason to start reporting the better number, and somehow putting blame on the government for the misrepresentation.

 

[Crewella]

Then why the "The Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England each confirmed the double-counting"?

It's the .Gov site I linked to, so their own figures, not a media site?

 

[nordelen]

Then why the "The Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England each confirmed the double-counting"?

It's the .Gov site I linked to, so their own figures, not a media site?

The government number-crunchers are still crunching though [emoji23]

 

["Misfit"]

The government number-crunchers are still crunching though [emoji23]

Think of a number between 10,000 and a 100,000
Double it
Then half it
Then take away the first number you thought of