Sydney's Covid case numbers are set to explode after 1,395 people were wrongly told they were Covid-negative and attended family celebrations across the city.
The Sydney Pathology testing centre at St Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst has apologised after a monumental human error saw negative test result text messages issued to people who were tested on December 23 and 24.
The 1,395 impacted patients were told on Christmas Day they were free to celebrate the holiday with their loved ones - giving hundreds of families a false sense of security.
On Boxing Day, the hospital issued a formal apology to 400 patients, warning them 'human error' had contributed to the wrong advice and they were, in fact, infected with Covid.
By Monday, that number had been amended to 1,395 wrong pathology results. Those impacted have already been contacted by hospital officials.
It's understood text messages confirming a negative result were wrongly sent to each of the patients before their samples had even undergone testing.
There are major concerns the hospital blunder will see cases skyrocket with so many families mingling, hugging and kissing under the presumption they were Covid-free.
Pictured: A man has a swab taken at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 21 as the city experiences an unprecedented demand
An Easter suburbs musician was one of more than 1,395 people who received a text message giving the all clear for Christmas (left) before receiving another message the following day informing they were actually positive (right)
Members of the public take Covid19 PCR tests at a clinic at Bondi Beach as cases continue to soar
A spokesperson for St Vincent's Hospital has since assured the public such a monumental mistake will not happen again.
'We have identified what occurred and can confirm it was related to a specific human error. SydPath have put procedures in place to ensure this cannot happen again,' the spokesperson said.
'This event comes at a time of unprecedented COVID-testing activity and SydPath's people, as with all pathology teams throughout NSW, are working around the clock to respond.'
A musician from Sydney's east who was among the 400 initially identified as having received a botched result indicated he'd be taking legal action.
He'd been self isolating after several rapid antigen tests he took indicated he was Covid-positive, but joined his family on Christmas Day, assured by his negative result.
But the following morning, after attending a big Christmas dinner that he rearranged after getting the good news, he received another message informing him of the 'laboratory error' - and that he was in fact positive.
He is now furious that he could have spread the highly-transmissible Omicron variant to his partner and closest friends because of someone else's stuff up.
Members of the public queue for Covid tests at a clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney - with many experiencing four day waits for results
St Vincent's and SydPath also run the drive-through clinic at Bondi Beach, which had queues for up to three hours in the days leading to Christmas
Hundreds of other families are likely to be in the same position, with the false negative test result coming through on Christmas Day - just in time to rearrange lunch plans.
'This means I could have infected my partner, our friends and any casual contact due to negligence from the lab,' he said.
'I am planning on taking legal action for this, it is unacceptable to play with people's lives like this.
'I would rather prefer to wait a week for the right result rather than getting a 'quick' (+72 hrs later) result done in a rush.'
Another young woman caught up in the bungle is nervous she's now exposed her young niece and nephew to the virus.
'Honestly, (I'm) very scared and nervous that I've infected my niece and nephew who are one and three,' she said.
'That's what scares me and worries me, because if they are positive, I'm the one to blame, because I've infected them now.'
In addition to the results blunder, the woman had tried for two days to get a test while she had symptoms, but claims she was turned away on both occasions because the clinics were too busy.
St Vincent's and SydPath also run the drive-through clinic at Bondi Beach, which had queues for up to three hours in the days leading to Christmas.
Premier Dominic Perrottet is urging Sydneysiders not to get tested unless they're displaying symptoms or have been directed to test in an attempt to alleviate the pressures on clinics throughout the state.
People are reporting 100-hour waits to receive their results and are even being turned away from clinics due to the delays.
A man who was told he was negative and then attending a Christmas dinner is considering taking legal action
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