Almost 4,000 WRONG Covid test results sent to workers across the UK

Almost 4,000 employees were wrongly told they had tested positive for coronavirus by the NHS Test and Trace service on Saturday.

Workers had reportedly been sent home to self-isolate after being tested by Amazon using on-site facilities, while operations were disrupted as a result.

The Department of Health said that NHS Test and Trace "rapidly notified" affected employees, informing them by late afternoon that they no longer needed to self-isolate.

Confirming the mix-up, a spokesperson said: “NHS Test and Trace has the capacity to process over 700,000 tests a day from more than 800 test centres and mobile units, with the vast majority of people reporting no issues with the process.

“On Saturday, some Amazon staff members who tested negative for Covid-19 received notifications from NHS Test and Trace to say they have tested positive and asking them to self-isolate.

“Working closely with Amazon, NHS Test and Trace rapidly notified affected employees to let them know they did not need to isolate.”

The Department of Health spokesperson confirmed that out of the 3,853 staff to receive negative results, no positive Covid cases had been sent incorrect test results.

The Covid test facility at an Amazon Fulfilment Centre in the UK Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

Across its sites, Amazon offers all of its workers a voluntary on-site Covid test once per week.

Results are then sent and analysed by NHS laboratories with results processed in the same way as tests are in the community.

In the North-East, workers from Amazon Durham said the mix-up had caused disruption across the site as a "considerable" number of its workforce had been sent home.

They said that workstations across different departments had to be shut down and cordoned off.

A spokesperson for Amazon said: “We’ve communicated with our associates and partners to support them with the appropriate action steps, as instructed by the NHS.”