[앵커]
Allegations have been raised that a private COVID-19 testing company in the UK has falsely tested tens of thousands of people who have been tested for gene amplification.
There are concerns that this sham test may have had an impact on the spread of COVID-19.
Reporter Park Kyung-seok reports.
[기자]
The epicenter of the rumors was the laboratory of a private COVID-19 testing company that was housed in a research facility at the University of Wolverhampton, UK.
Suspicions have been raised that people who test positive in the rapid test have tested negative in the lab’s gene amplification test, or PCR test, in large numbers.
As a result of the investigation, it is possible that 43,000 people who have used this site in the past month alone may have received false negative results.
The quarantine authorities immediately shut down the laboratory.
[제니 해리스 / 영국 보건안전국 최고책임자 : 조사 결과 특정 연구실이 드러났습니다. 정부와 검사 계약을 맺은 곳이었습니다. 그곳에 문제가 있었고 모든 업무를 중지시켰습니다.]
The company that operates this laboratory has so far won a contract for PCR testing worth £170 million, or KRW 276.5 billion, from the government.
Another subsidiary operated by the company is being investigated over allegations of not providing PCR test results in a timely manner.
The health authorities said that it appears that it was the laboratory’s own mistake and that the overall testing system was not problematic.
But some experts think differently.
[앨런 맥날리 / 버밍엄대 미생물·감염 연구소 교수 : PCR 프로세스는 단계별로 구축돼 있습니다. 각 단계를 제어하면서 테스트 과정의 시스템적 문제가 있는지 확인해봐야 합니다.]
There is also concern that the false negative test may have affected the spread of COVID-19.
In fact, it is possible that tens of thousands of people who were infected believed false negatives and spread COVID-19 more easily.
This is YTN Park Kyung-seok.
YTN Park Kyung-seok (kspark@ytn.co.kr)
[저작권자(c) YTN & YTN plus 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
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