Limassol's Mediterranean Hospital put off sample-testing duty after contamination

Limassol’s Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus has been temporarily put off Covid-19 sample testing duty after its lab was found responsible for a number of false positive results as a result of sample contamination.

News broke out on Wednesday that the majority of the 30 Paphos airport arrivals that were announced positive for the virus on Monday were actually virus-free, as out of the 27 so far re-checked, 26 received negative results. The remaining three were to be re-tested on Wednesday.

After the 26 tested negative to the repeat test, the Limassol hospital launched an internal probe into the matter, with initial information pointing to the contamination of samples from one of a positive case.

Clinical Labs Supervisor Carolina Stylianou told the Cyprus News Agency that the situation was sad and unfortunate, and expressed hope that it won’t be repeated.

Stylianou acknowledged the health authorities’ swift response to the incident, ensuring that affected arrivals endure the least possible inconvenience.

A revised catalogue of labs that have the permission to conduct tests made public by the health ministry.

Health minister Constantinos Ioannou earlier on Wednesday expressed his sincere apologies to the affected persons for the inconvenience caused.

Among the 30 cases, 17 were from Mykonos, 10 from the Netherlands, two from the UK, and one from Croatia.