Test And Trace Hits Another New Low With Worst Ever Contact Tracing Rate
Boris Johnson’s test-and-trace service faces fresh criticism after it reported its worst ever figures for tracking down “close contacts” of people with Covid.
The controversial system hit a new low with just 62.6% of cases in England being reached and told to self-isolate to stop the spread of the virus.
The figure is the worst since the so-called NHS Test and Trace was launched in May, and down on the previous week’s 68.8%, itself a record low at the time.
It means that nearly a third of all people who have been in contact with someone testing positive for the virus have not been reached – and not told to home quarantine for 14 days.
Government scientific experts have advised that the whole system can only work effectively if at least 80% of “close contacts” are actually tracked down and self-isolate
Close contacts are defined as those who have spent more than 15 minutes within two metres of a positive Covid case.
Latest figures for the week between October 1 and October 7 starkly underlined the continuing surge in coronavirus cases across the country, with 89,874 people testing positive for the first time – a 64% increase compared to the previous week.
The so-called NHS Test and Trace system, which is headed by Tory peer and former TalkTalk phone giant boss Dido Harding, has been dogged by criticism since it began earlier this year, with many attacking its use of private firms like Serco and Deloitte.
Although it has managed to dramatically increase testing capacity from 2,000 a day to around 300,000 a day, its performance on getting tests to those who need them has remained under fire.
Shadow health minister Justin Madders told HuffPost UK: “It is absolutely staggering that week upon week the performance of test and trace keeps getting worse and worse.
“Surely Ministers must see that the system is falling apart and what was supposed to be world beating is in fact now one of the biggest obstacles to us getting on top of the virus?
“The need for a...
