COVID-19 tests delayed by contamination at CDC lab, says report

A delay by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in quickly making COVID-19 test kits available was the result of "a glaring scientific breakdown" at the CDC's central lab, according to a report of The Washington Post on Saturday.

The report, citing scientists and federal regulators, said that CDC facilities which assembled the testing kits "violated sound manufacturing practices, resulting in contamination of one of the three test components used in the highly sensitive detection process."

That lag in action aggravated national delays in testing for the virus, and in turn hampered a battle to contain spread of the virus, said the report.

The report quoted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as saying the CDC did not manufacture its test consistent with its own protocol.

"It's critical that the tests used work, because false results can also contribute to the spread of COVID-19," the FDA was quoted as saying.

(XINHUA)