Covid: 11,000 positive tests delayed in Welsh figures

A delay in reporting an extra 11,000 positive Covid tests in figures in Wales means cases in the last week could be twice as high as thought.

Public Health Wales (PHW) said planned IT maintenance meant there was a "significant under-reporting" but anyone who tested positive had been contacted in the usual way.

The problem relates to tests processed in 'lighthouse laboratories'.

The Welsh Conservatives said the news was "staggering".

The 11,000 extra positive tests were taken between 9 and 15 December. PHW said the "vast majority" have been added to its dashboard, which records the figures, on Thursday.

The figures show an additional 4,221 cases have been added to the total for the week ending 11 December, an adjustment to what was reported on Wednesday.

A total of 11,250 - including the usual daily cases - have been added meaning the latest weekly case rates have increased as a result.

For Wales, it has jumped to 530.2 cases per 100,000 for the most recent seven days, to 12 December.

The case rate stood at 377.8 on Wednesday, though PHW warned that was an underestimation of what we should expect.

The new figures show the case rate for Merthyr Tydfil - already the highest in the UK - is now 1,032.7 cases per 100,000 - with 623 positive tests in the last seven days.

There are 14 out of 22 council areas which have their highest case rates so far - including Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.

Three others would have reported their highest figures on Wednesday, had the figures been correct.

Public Health Wales said their previous data collection system was "on its last legs".

"The system would collapse very frequently and it was proving to be unsustainable to run with its existing system," said PHW incident director Dr Giri Shankar.

"This was not an unplanned activity. We knew it was going to have an impact, therefore we constantly communicated before it actually happened and while it was happening and even after it had happened, to say that this is affecting the results."

The planned maintenance of the NHS Welsh Laboratory Information Management System (WLMS) "has not affected individuals receiving their results", PHW insist.

First Minister Mark Drakeford told BBC Radio Wales: "The story is not about missing data or computer problems, it's about the seriousness of the situation.

"You were told in advance that this was going to happen. The data was never missing it was always there, waiting to be uploaded into the system."

Plaid Cymru health spokesman Rhun ap Iorwerth said: "With positive cases in Wales rising to record levels it is crucial that the reporting of data is both timely and robust.

"The public need a complete and current picture of the situation to realise the gravity of what we are facing.

"We need urgent reassurance that the failings have been addressed."

A Welsh Government spokesman said: "This issue was caused by a planned upgrade which we were aware of and that was publicised in advance - this is not an issue of lost data."

On Wednesday, it was reported that 30 more people had died with coronavirus in Wales and 530 more cases were announced.

PHW's Wednesday figures take the total deaths in Wales to 2,921, with 6,193 tests carried out on Tuesday.

The latest numbers follow an announcement on Wednesday that Wales will go into lockdown from 28 December.

Eight of the deaths reported on Wednesday were from the Cwm Taf health board area, seven from Cardiff and Vale and six from Aneurin Bevan.

The Hywel Dda health board area reported three, whilst Betsi Cadwaladr, Powys and Swansea Bay all reported two each.

The seven-day case rates are being published accounting for a time lag of four days, allowing for late results to be included, which PHW said will improve the accuracy of its dashboard.

Acute patients from Powys are usually treated across the border at hospitals in England, so deaths of Powys residents usually only appear in registrations reported later by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Those ONS figures - which are higher - also count both confirmed and suspected cases of Covid, as well as deaths in all settings, including care homes, hospices and people's own homes.

PHW reports new deaths daily, but these are usually from previous days.

Find out how the pandemic has affected your area and how it compares with the national average:

If you can't see the look-up click here.

The postcode search has been updated to replace data for health boards in Scotland with data for local councils. In England, data for county councils has been replaced with data for district councils. Figures for boroughs and unitary authorities remain unchanged.