NHS Test And Trace System Still Failing To Reach A Quarter Of People With Covid-19
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A quarter of people who test positive for coronavirus are still not by reached by the NHS Test and Trace system, new statistics showed on Thursday.
According to official figures issued by the Department of Health and Social Care, 1,383 people (22.4%) could not be reached using the details they had provided. An additional 161 people (2.6%) did not provide any contact details in the first place.
The figures, which cover June 18 to June 24, are a slight improvement on the previous week’s statistics but are well short of the “gold standard” that NHS Test and Trace chief Dido Harding has said she is aiming for.
Under the system, anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 is advised to give their own details and then to inform tracers of those they have spent more than 15 minutes with at a distance of less than two metres in the previous two days.
When people cannot be reached the reasons are either because their details are incorrect, or there was no response to calls, texts and email.
Government insiders admit that there is also a problem with public awareness of the fact that everyone can now get a test. Private polling shows that less than half the population are aware they are now eligible for tests.
Asked about the system’s continuing failure to contact a large chunk of those with the virus, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “It is a new large scale service and it will improve over time.
“It’s important to acknowledge we have set up NHS Test and Trace from scratch, it’s a huge endeavour.
“We have now reached more than 130,000 people who would otherwise have knowingly spread the virus. We do also need the public to continue to play their part providing vital information to test and trace to help protect families and communities and ultimately to save lives.”
The NHS Test and Trace programme, launched in late May, has...
