On Sunday , one of the United Kingdom ’s public health agenciesannouncedthat 15,841 covid-19 type had gone unreported due to a “ technological issue ” that occurred during “ the data load process . ” As citizen demand answer , it ’s looking increasingly probable that a simple error in Microsoft Excel is to blame for the missing information .
Public Health England ( PHE ) is responsible for for collating covid-19 trial results that are furnish from public and private laboratory across the UK . The data point is supposed to be published on a day-by-day basis , and the database is used to distinguish individuals for contact tracing measures . PHE say the technological issue do authorities to temporarily lose datum that was entered between September 25 and October 2 . The bulk of the data point losses occurred between September 30 and October 2 , the government agency said in astatement .
PHE claims that all patients who receive a overconfident covid diagnosis have been inform and that everything has now been sum to the proper NHS Test and Trace contact tracing system . But cherished time has been misplace due to the error . The Guardianestimates that 50,000 contacts were missed while the error went unnoticed .
Screenshot:Gizmodo/Flickr CC
But what was the error ? The growing suspicion is that the Microsoft Excel sheet used to collate covid testing data at the PHE just ran out of blank space and no one notice until it was too previous . release like theGuardianand theDaily Mailhave claimed that when a CSV Indian file from an independent lab was received and append to the master list , it caused the Excel plane to hit its debut limit point . The spreadsheet program maxes out at 1,048,576 words and 16,384 pillar . The PHE did not come back Gizmodo ’s request for comment , but wellness secretary Matt Hancock isreportedlygoing to address the House of Commons on the matter sometime on Monday .
The malicious gossip comes at a time when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has beenwarningcitizens of tough times ahead as covid outbreaksaccelerateand stricterlockdownsare follow out . Whether or not an Excel misplay is to blame for the overlook examination data point , the PHE has been such a disaster among the coronavirus pandemic that it’sset to be abolishedand replaced with a fresh agency in the near future .
Max Rosser , Oxford investigator and father of the Our World In Data projection , took the chance to highlight the need for smashing focus on the integrity of spreadsheet data . Rossertweetedthat he has “ clamber in the past times to explain to funders that auto scholarship and AI are not the most urgent next steps . uncontaminating , accurate csv - files are the frontier . ”
As the Guardian points out , we ’ve seen some underage information entry errors result in major consequence in recent long time . In 2013 , JPMorganblameda $ 6 billion red ink , in part , on an fault in an Excel spreadsheet used for financial modeling . And in August , researchersannouncedthat they ’d changed the name of 27 genes over the last year because Excel was continuously recognizing the old name as date . It was simply easier to change the names than to abandon Excel .
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