LONDON (AP) – The British government has launched an investigation into the disappearance of 16,000 new corona virus infections due to a technical glitch, which critics say could have triggered an explosion if it failed.

“It involves the automatic transfer of files,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told lawmakers. This problem has been linked to file size limitations in Excel spreadsheets used in the test-and-trace program.

“This is a serious matter and is being fully investigated,” Hancock said. “Now it is crucial that we work together to fix it and make sure it never happens again.”

Hancock appeared in the House of Commons after it was revealed over the weekend that 15,841 virus cases had not been listed from September 25 to October 2. Although positive test takers were told about their condition, their contacts – about 50,000 people – were not found, a failure that could have allowed the virus to thrive.

He said 51% of those who tested positive had been contacted again and reached their contacts shortly thereafter.

He added that despite the inclusion of several new cases, the government’s chief medical officer had not made any significant changes to his view of the UK’s outbreak of the virus, which had witnessed a second outbreak of the virus, as in other European countries.

Jonathan Ashworth, an opponent of Hancock in the main opposition Labor Party, said the Conservative government’s plan to fight the epidemic was “shocking” and that the latest problem plaguing the country’s experimental regime was “life threatening.”

Lawmakers from all parties have criticized Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government for its lack of testing capability, saying it has asked some people to travel hundreds of miles for a test and that there has been a delay in notifying people of their test results.

The latest problem seems to be max out of an Excel file during an automated process. Although software is an important component of customer settings, experts say it has many limitations for use in very good projects.

John Crocroft, a professor of communication systems at the University of Cambridge, said: “If it was Excel, everyone would know the limitations of Excel, a very decent software based on big data.

In order for the test and trace program to work well, contacts will be notified as soon as possible, within hours. Therefore, the failure of the authorities to notify people infected with the virus may lead to more positive cases, and the government needs to impose more unnecessary restrictions on subsequent daily life.

Auschwitz lashes out at the government’s latest failure “at a critical juncture in the Pandemic. ”

“It’s not just a scam – it’s worse than that – it doesn’t comfort me to say it, but it’s life threatening,” Ashwath added.

The unreported cases added to the government’s new infections over the weekend, raising it to 12,872 cases on Saturday and 22,961 cases on Sunday. Compared to an average of 7,000 new cases a day four days ago. The number of new cases reported on Monday dropped to 12,594, but no trend can be found considering the changes related to missing cases.

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, described the problem as “very disappointing.”

“In order for the test, track and trace system to have a real impact on reducing the transmission of COVID-19, it is essential that the test results communicate quickly,” he said.

As with other countries in Europe, corona virus infection has been on the rise in the UK over the past few weeks, prompting the government to announce a number of restrictions nationally and locally. The new rules limit the number of people allowed to gather and impose a curfew in pubs.

Europe has the highest number of people infected with the virus at 42,400. Two weeks ago, the government’s chief scientific advisers warned that the country would end up with 50,000 new cases a day by mid-October if no further controls were taken, leading to hundreds of daily deaths a month later.

Confusion over daily testing numbers increases uncertainty as to whether controls work to suppress the virus.

___

Follow AP Coverage for Virus Outbreaks at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak And https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak