UK orders recall of 741,000 coronavirus testing kits

Published August 9, 2020
A staff member hands a testing kit to a person at a coronavirus test site in Poole.— Reuters/File
A staff member hands a testing kit to a person at a coronavirus test site in Poole.— Reuters/File

LONDON: Randox Laboratories, a Northern Ireland-based medical technology company, has been instructed by Britain’s medicines regulator to recall up to 741,000 coronavirus test kits from the national test and trace programme as a precautionary measure.

The government had on July 15 instructed the programme, run by the National Health Service (NHS), to stop using the kits, citing concerns that they may not meet required safety standards.

“The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has instructed Randox to recall all Randox test kits from NHS Test and Trace testing settings,” the ministry of health said in a statement on Friday.

The ministry said the decision had been taken as a “precautionary” measure. The risk to safety was low and test results from Randox kits were not affected, it said.

Up to 741,000 unused Randox kits are estimated to be in the system, either at warehouses, at care homes or at private homes. The ministry gave instructions on how to return them.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.