CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa- The Linn County Health Department says bad information led to hundreds of people incorrectly being told they tested positive for COVID-19.
The department has since sent letters notifying 235 people of the mistake.
The Gazette reports Weland Clinical Laboratories used an incorrect code in reporting some test results to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The private clinic, which is not part of the Test Iowa program, worked with the state to submit the correct information.
According to the Gazette, the mistakes happened when the lab results, which are reported as positive or negative in the clinic's information system, weren't converted to a nine-digit number that state Public Health Department system requires.
The people who received mistaken positive test results were mostly in Linn County, although some were in 13 other Eastern Iowa counties.