COVID-19: Test and Trace still missing four in 10 contacts of those who tested positive
Written by News on 12/11/2020
Test and Trace reached 60.4% of contacts of people who tested positive for coronavirus in the week ending 4 November, latest figures show.
This is slightly up on the previous week’s figure of 59.9%, making it one of the lowest rates since the scheme began.
Figures also show that 149,253 people tested positive for coronavirus at least once in England in the same week – the highest weekly number since the system was launched in May, and an 8% increase on the previous week.
However, of the 141,804 people referred to Test and Trace in that week, 85% were reached and asked to provide a list of recent close contacts – the highest weekly percentage since it began, and up slightly on the week before.
Some 13.2% of people who had been transferred to the scheme were unable to be contacted, while 1.9% did not provide any communication details.
Where cases were managed by local health teams in England, 99.1% of contacts were able to be reached and told to self-isolate in that week, while cases managed online or by call centres saw a rate of just 59%.
37.6% of people who were tested in England at a regional, local or mobile site got their result within 24 hours – up slightly from 26.4% in the previous week, however this is some way off the target set in June that all those doing in-person tests should get their results within 24 hours.
Of those who used a home test kit, 4.5% of people had their result within 24 hours, up slightly from 3.5% the previous week. 57.7% of home kit users had results within 48 hours, however.
On Wednesday, the UK recorded a further 595 coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the country’s total to 50,365. Another 22,950 people tested positive, according to government figures.
Thursday marks a week in to England’s month-long lockdown, with non-essential businesses, restaurants, bars and gyms all closed, in an effort to slow the rise in COVID-19 infections.
(c) Sky News 2020: COVID-19: Test and Trace still missing four in 10 contacts of those who tested positive
