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A30 world news
Diamars 6 OctOber 2020

UK hit by new virus test failing, finds 16,000 extra cases

second spike of the virus. should be notified as soon as lated to the missing cases, it
Jonathan Ashworth, Han- possible, within hours prefer- was impossible to figure out
cock's counterpart in the ably. So authorities' failure to a trend.
main opposition Labour inform people potentially ex- Paul Hunter, a professor in
Party, said the failing showed posed to the virus could lead medicine at the University of
how "shambolic" the Con- to many more positive cases East Anglia, called the glitch
servative government's plan and the subsequent need for "very disappointing."
to fight the pandemic was the government to impose "For the test, track and trace
and that the latest problem further unwanted restrictions system to have a real impact
afflicting the country's test- on everyday life. on reducing transmission
ing regime was "putting lives Ashworth slammed the gov- of COVID-19, it is essential
at risk." ernment for its latest failing that test results are commu-
Lawmakers from all parties "at one of the most crucial nicated rapidly," he said.
have criticized Prime Minis- points in the pandemic," add- Like other countries in Eu-
ter Boris Johnson's govern- ing that the contacts of those rope, the U.K. has seen rising
ment for a shortage of testing unreported new cases may coronavirus infections over
(AP) — The British govern- Hancock's appearance at the capacity that's meant some have been "blissfully unaware the past few weeks, which has
ment has launched an in- House of Commons came people have been asked to they've been exposed to CO- prompted the government to
vestigation into how nearly after the weekend disclo- travel hundreds of miles for VID, potentially spreading announce a series of restric-
16,000 new coronavirus in- sure that 15,841 virus cases a test, and delays in notifying this deadly virus at a time tions, both nationally and lo-
fections went unreported as a weren't tabulated from Sept. people of their test results. when hospital admissions are cally, to keep a lid on infec-
result of a technical glitch, a 25 to Oct. 2. Though those The latest problem appears to increasing and we are in the tions. The new rules limit the
failing that could have given testing positive had been told have been caused by an Excel second wave." number of people allowed to
fresh impetus to an outbreak of their status, their contacts file maxing out during an au- "This isn't just a shambles — gather together and put a cur-
that critics say could easily — potentially around 50,000 tomated process. Though the it's so much worse than this few on pubs.
get out of control. people — weren't traced, a software is a staple in con- — and it gives me no com- The U.K. has Europe's high-
Health Secretary Matt Han- failing that could have al- sumer settings, experts say it fort to say this, but it's put- est virus-related death toll at
cock told lawmakers Mon- lowed the virus to flourish. has a number of limitations ting lives at risk," Ashworth around 42,400. The govern-
day that the problem related He said 51% of those testing for use in much grander proj- added. ment's chief scientific advis-
to the "automated transfer of positive were contacted again ects. The unreported cases were ers warned two weeks ago
files." The problem is widely and that their contacts were "If this was Excel as is being added to the government's that if more restrictions were
thought to be connected to reached immediately after reported, the limitations of daily new infections total not taken, the country could
the file size limitations on that. Excel, which is generally a over the weekend, boosting end up with 50,000 new
Excel spreadsheets used in Despite the addition of so very decent piece of software, Saturday's number to 12,872 cases a day by mid-October,
the test-and-trace program. many new cases, he said the in terms of Big Data are well cases and Sunday's to 22,961. leading to hundreds of daily
"This is a serious issue which government's chief medical known," said Jon Crowcroft, That compared to an average deaths a month later.
is being investigated fully," officer "has not substantially a professor of communica- of 7,000 new cases a day the The confusion over the daily
Hancock said. "Now it is changed" his opinion about tions at the University of four days before. The num- testing numbers only adds to
critical we work together to the epidemic's path in the Cambridge. ber of new cases reported the uncertainty over whether
put it right and make sure it U.K., which like other coun- For the test-and-trace pro- Monday fell to 12,594, but the restrictions are working
doesn't happen again." tries in Europe is witnessing a gram to work well, contacts given the adjustments re- in suppressing the virus.

Deadly floods hit France, Italy; sweep coffins over border

(AP) — Three more bodies in the region after another Even cows weren't spared floodwaters. They included the body of a shepherd
were discovered Monday on was found Sunday in the from the powerful floodwa- two firefighters whose ve- who had disappeared in the
the French side of the border hard-hit town of Saint-Mar- ters rushing south from the hicle fell into the water as a mountains. A firefighter also
with Italy after severe moun- tin-Vesubie. Another body hilly backcountry. A dead road collapsed. died in the border region of
tain flooding ravaged parts was later found in the same cow washed up on a beach in In addition, French rescu- Valle d'Aosta.
of both countries, leaving at town, he said later, bringing the French Riviera town of ers were seeking to locate 12 The flooding has put addi-
least 12 dead. Hundreds of the total on the French side Saint-Laurent du Var. other people whose families tional stress on regions cop-
rescue workers were search- to four. In France, firefighters were have not heard of them since ing with the coronavirus
ing for up to 20 other people In Italy, a woman's body was still searching Monday for the storm, which blocked pandemic. The governors of
still missing. discovered Monday in the at least eight missing people roads and cut off communi- both Liguria and Piedmont
Flooding devastated moun- Mediterranean Sea by the Li- who witnesses described as cations. have asked the Italian gov-
tainous areas in France's gurian province of Imperia. possibly being carried off by French authorities also found ernment for emergency aid.
southeastern Alpes-Mar- Five other bodies, all men,
itimes region and Italy's were found Sunday in the sea
northwestern regions of Li- near San Remo, on the beach
guria and Piedmont after a in the Italian border town
storm swept on Friday and of Ventimiglia and along the
Saturday. Imperia coast.
Many of the identities of the Gonzalez said he had been
dead were as murky as the in touch with Italian col-
churning waters that swept leagues about bodies found
them away. on beaches of Liguria.
The prefect of France's "The bodies found corre-
Alpes-Maritimes region told spond to decomposing ca-
the Nice Matin newspaper davers from our side ... but
that some bodies found in it's most likely the bodies
Italy were apparently corpses came from cemeteries swept
from coffins that had been away by the water," the paper
swept across the border by quoted him as saying. Proce-
the raging floodwaters. dures to identify the bodies
Bernard Gonzalez said as were underway but he did
of Monday afternoon, two not say exactly how many
more bodies had been found corpses he was talking about.