U.K's test and trace app did not work properly due to an error with some excel sheets.

Close contacts of many of those who tested positive for COVID-19 in the U.K were not traced due to a technical glitch in an MS Excel data file.

Close contacts of many of those who tested positive for COVID-19 in the U.K were not traced due to a technical glitch in an MS Excel data file.Around 16,000 close contacts of COVID positive people in England were not traced by the 'test and trace' app as per a statement issued by U.K's Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The technical glitch, as explained by Mr. Hancock, was caused by a Microsoft Excel data file sent by the NHS to Public Health England. As a result of this error, 15,841 positive cases were left out of U.K's daily figures between September 25 and October 2, 2020.

Public Health England(PHE) claimed that the issue was immediately identified, fixed, and the outstanding data was sent over to tracers. However, the Health Secretary, while addressing the MP's said that the issue was not yet resolved and that tracers were able to reach only 51% of the close contacts whose data was missing.

The opposition Labor party stated that such incidents of missing results were putting lives in danger.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.