Murrumbidgee Local Health District records 1141 COVID cases as state plays catch-up on processing problem

The latest data from NSW Health, released on Wednesday morning, has been inflated in the wake of the issue and includes 125 positive results from PCR tests in the MLHD and a huge 1016 confirmed cases from rapid antigen tests [RATs].

Case numbers across NSW have skyrocketed after a "processing issue" resulted in around 10,000 positive RATS registered but not being reported until days later.

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"NSW Health advises that about 10,000 positive RATs registered with Service NSW by people between Sunday, March 13 and Monday, March 14 are included in today's numbers following a data processing issue," NSW Health said on Wednesday morning.

"These positive RATs from Sunday and Monday artificially inflate the cases being reported today for the 24 hours to 4pm [Tuesday]."

It now means that the state estimates it would have announced 20,402 cases instead of 10,689 on Tuesday, and 16,689 instead of 8911 on Monday.

Instead, it announced 30,402 new cases on Wednesday morning.

"PCR tests results were not affected by the data processing issue," NSW Health clarified.

"The data processing issue, which has now been resolved, only affected reporting of cases. All of these cases were still connected to clinical care as per normal processes with positive COVID-19 results."

The MLHD had recorded 279 cases for Monday and 252 cases for Sunday.

It said on Tuesday that none of the 12 patients in Riverina hospitals with COVID-19 were in intensive care.

Just under 2000 people in the Wagga local government alone are current active cases, according to the MLHD's data, though the 1918 dealing with the virus on Tuesday were from PCR positive tests alone.