Israeli hospital tells dozens who weren't tested: 'You have COVID-19'

A computing error in an Israeli hospital which caused a mix-up in messaging led to dozens of Israelis receiving messages from the Health Ministry which falsely claimed they had tested positive for COVID-19. Many of those Israelis had never even been tested for the virus, N12 reported on Monday evening.

Moreover, the computing error which sent out the messages to the wrong patients also neglected to notify the patients who had actually tested positive of their results, leaving several COVID-19 patients unaware of their infectious nature and their need for quarantine.

The computer error led to a chaotic scene with some coronavirus-positive individuals received negative test results, while a month old baby girl who hadn't come in contact with any COVID-19 patients received a false positive.

The Health Ministry said in response to the incident that the mistake had occurred due to a computer error which had been fixed on the same day it was revealed. However, senior officials in the Health Ministry told N12 that the problem "may be much worse."

According to the officials, if the error happened at the hospital (whose name has not yet been released), it may have already happened in other places as well, it may even be happening now.

There have been relatively few occasions in which the Health Ministry has accidentally notified Israelis of false positive diagnoses, most notably after Shin Bet surveillance technology had been reinstated in July to track coronavirus patients but instead sent dozens of messages to people who had not been where the technology said they were, forcing them into isolation.