Nucleic acid test fraud carries risks

Beijing police announced on Sunday that it had found clues into suspected illegal activities involving COVID-19 nucleic acid tests carried out by the Zhongtong Lanbo medical lab. A 52-year-old man surnamed Zhang and his aides have been detained.

This is the third medical lab being investigated in Beijing in this regard. On May 27, Jinzhun medical lab was investigated and its legal representative detained. Before that, on May 21, the same happened with Pushi Medical Lab.

The series of crackdowns might seem like alarming news for the domestic health sector. However, supervising nucleic acid tests is no less important, as one oversight can totally unsettle the fight against the pandemic.

That is not the case in Beijing yet, but the risk exists.

The labs in Zhongtong Lanbo and Jinzhun allegedly mixed more swab samples than is prescribed in one tube. Supposing just a few of those samples contained the virus, its density would become so low that it could escape detection.

The Pushi lab was found to have records of results of fewer samples than it had collected, meaning they were not testing all the samples, leaving open the possibility of some people carrying the virus going undetected.

On May 27, Yang Daqing, deputy head of the Fangshan District health commission, was detained with two other officials for illegalities in supervising the Pushi lab.

The reason behind such illegal moves is profit. By mixing more samples than is legal, the labs are cutting down on testing costs. In fact, nucleic acid testing is becoming a money churner that needs supervision to ensure there is no risk to people's lives and health. Even more so given that testing is becoming a daily affair in some cases and might be here for some time.

The authorities should not take any chances with the health of 1.4 billion people.