Excel spreadsheet error blamed for UK’s 16,000 missing coronavirus cases

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The UK failed to add nearly 16,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus to its national track and trace system due to an Excel error. A number of reports, including from The Guardian, Sky News, and The Daily Mail, say the mistake was caused when an Excel spreadsheet used to track confirmed cases of the virus reached its maximum file size and failed to update.The government agency that helps oversee the UK’s pandemic response, Public Health England (PHE),