England’s Test and Trace system misses one in four people with coronavirus
The number of contacts made by positive coronavirus cases identified by England’s NHS Test and Trace system increased to 44,895 in its second week, but it missed one in four infected patients.
The Department of Health said today that 5,949 people who tested positive for coronavirus had their case transferred to the contact tracing system in its second week of operation.
A total of 44,895 contacts were identified, up from nearly 32,000 last week. Of those identified in the second week, 40,690 people, were able to be reached and advised to self-isolate.
However, the data also revealed the NHS tracing system missed one in four people with coronavirus in its latest week, as criticism has mounted of how the tracing process is being handled.
Of 14,045 positive coronavirus cases in the first two weeks of the tracing system, 10,192 were reached. But 25 per cent, or 3,435, were not reached and 418 did not provide contact details.
It follows an investigation by the New York Times, which last night revealed a trend of mismanagement and shortcomings by those employed to reach out to contacts.
Some contact tracers said they had failed to reach a single person since beginning their work almost three weeks ago. Others who had been contacted by tracers described being told to report to test centres in Northern Ireland, thousands of miles from where they live.
The investigation also reported signs of disagreement among government officials. People familiar with the matter told the New York Times of a senior minister who threatened to end cooperation with local councils if complaints regarding the system were aired publicly.
While tracers in other countries have largely been supported by a bolstering of aid to public services, parts of the day-to-day operation of England’s test and trace system is reported to have been handed to outsourcing giant Serco, in a deal said to be worth approximately £108m.
Serco declined to comment.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “In the first two weeks, tens of thousands of people have engaged with the NHS Test and Trace service, by taking a test if they have symptoms, sharing their contacts and following the advice to self-isolate.
“We are working to reach more people and making improvements to the service to do that.”
Separately, a survey released by Ogury showed that only two-fifths of Britons have said they are willing to share their data with the government as part of the virus-tracing system.
More than 60 per cent said they do not believe the government can adequately protect the data needed for a virus-tracing app to be successful.