ALMOST 300 new coronavirus cases were added to St Helens’ total over the weekend following a technical issue with Public Health England’s IT systems.

The glitch meant that 15,841 positive cases between September 25 and October 2 were not included in the UK daily figures.

The error was caused by some data files reporting positive test results exceeding the maximum file size.

After discovering the issue overnight on Friday, they were included in the record number of 12,872 new cases reported on Saturday and in the 22,961 figure for Sunday.

For St Helens, 177 new cases were added on Saturday and 115 on Sunday, meaning a total of 292 were added to its cumulative total.

In response to the error, Michael Brodie, interim chief executive of PHE, said: “A technical issue was identified overnight on Friday 2 October in the data load process that transfers Covid-19 positive lab results into reporting dashboards.

“After rapid investigation, we have identified that 15,841 cases between 25 September and 2 October were not included in the reported daily Covid-19 cases.

“The majority of these cases occurred in most recent days.

“Every one of these cases received their Covid-19 test result as normal and all those who tested positive who were advised to self-isolate.

“NHS Test and Trace and PHE have worked to quickly resolve the issue and transferred all outstanding cases immediately into the NHS Test and Trace contact tracing system and I would like to thank contact tracing and health protection colleagues for their additional efforts over the weekend.

“We fully understand the concern this may cause and further robust measures have been put in place as a result.”

Test and Trace and PHE Joint Medical Advisor Susan Hopkins said a “thorough public health risk assessment” was undertaken to ensure outstanding cases were prioritised for contact tracing effectively.

She said the issue does not impact the basis on which decisions about local action were taken last week, with St Helens and the wider Liverpool City Region placed under further lockdown restrictions.

The situation compounds a situation that was already deeply concerning for the region. In St Helens, the missing cases have pushed the seven-day infection rate beyond the 300 mark, per 100,000 population.

The situation is even more dire in Knowsley, with 146 being added on Saturday and 302 on Sunday, which has seen the infection rate rocket above 400.

St Helens Star: Whiston Hospital Whiston Hospital

In line with the soaring infection rates, Whiston Hospital has reported a “worrying rise” in admissions in recent weeks, with a growing number of Covid patients being treated in its intensive care unit.

Whiston’s A&E department has also come under increasing pressure.

And last week, the trust that runs Whiston Hospital reported a cluster of coronavirus-related deaths to NHS England.

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which also runs St Helens and Newton hospitals, recorded five coronavirus deaths.

This means the trust has recorded 215 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic in March.