PM blasts test-and-trace ‘gloom’
BORIS Johnson yesterday insisted his Government’s coronavirus test-and-trace operation was “very successful” in the face of a fresh Labour attack.
In a heated Commons clash, the Prime Minister rejected claims from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer that the effort to identify new infections of the virus was a “big problem”.
The pair also traded verbal blows over the delay to the NHS phone app to track new cases.
With the rivalry between the two leaders at Prime Minister’s Questions intensifying, Sir Keir opened by highlighting the gap between the estimate of 33,000 people in England currently infected with coronavirus and a total of 10,000 contacted by test and trace over the last week and told to isolate themselves.
He said: “I recognise the hard work that has gone into this, but if two thirds of those with Covid-19 are not being reached and asked to provide contact details, there is a big problem, isn’t there?”
Mr Johnson replied: “Contrary to his prognostications of gloom, it has got up and running much faster than the doubters expected. They are getting it done.”
Sir Keir also taunted the Prime Minister over the delays to the mobile phone app after a home-grown version was abandoned following a trial on the Isle of Wight, asking: “Other countries are ahead of us. When are we going to have a working app?”
Mr Johnson hit back: “I wonder whether he can name a single country in the world that has a functional contract tracing app – there isn’t one.”
Sir Keir replied: “Germany. It had its app working on 15 June and it has had 12 million downloads. I checked that overnight”
Asked whether Mr Johnson had misled MPs, a spokesman for Sir Keir said: “It was another example of a dodgy answer from a Prime Minister who wasn’t on top of the detail.”