Coronavirus: Used test kits handed out to students in Birmingham

‘The circumstances around this incident, which involved seven houses and 25 kits, are being fully reviewed,’ says Birmingham City Council

Birmingham council mistakenly handed out used coronavirus swab kits to students as part of the city’s ‘drop and collect’ service, it has emerged.

Twenty-five kits, which had already been “sealed and snapped”, were given to residents along Tiverton Road in Selly Oak, close to the University of Birmingham, on Tuesday.

Birmingham City Council said there was “no risk of contamination” and that the incident was now being reviewed.

A student at the University of Birmingham warned others on a community Facebook page after her house received a box of used tests.

She wrote: “Anyone on [Tiverton Road] given a Covid test by guys in high-vis jackets, don't open!

“They've already been done — we opened up the box and they were sealed and snapped so had obviously been used!”

A spokesperson for Birmingham council said: “We want to reassure residents that none of these tests were reused and while the outer packaging on one was opened, the inner pack containing the swab remained sealed and secure so there is no risk of contamination.

“The team was alerted within five minutes that the wrong tests had been given out and steps were taken immediately to rectify the mistake. Drop and Collect is a vital part of helping to tackle the spread of Covid in our city, with around 100,000 tests being undertaken to date.

“The circumstances around this incident — which involved seven houses and 25 kits — is being fully reviewed and any required changes to process will be implemented.”

Student cases of coronavirus are rising across Birmingham’s universities, with the city currently placed in the government’s ‘alert level 2’.

In the week up to Wednesday 6 October, there were around 476 positive cases among students, out of a population of around 76,000.

The new rules for Birmingham mean that people can no longer mix indoors, but can do so outdoors and in private gardens — up to a maximum of six people.