Test/trace numbers ‘will not be released’
LOCAL DETAILS WITHHELD BY GOVERNMENT
THE government has said it will not share the number of people being contacted by test and trace staff.
The Mercury asked the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) for a breakdown of how many people have received calls from the centres set up to track people who have been in contact with those who test positive for coronavirus.
But a DHSC spokesman said: “We aren’t providing more localised data than is contained within the latest statistics.”
Launching what he called a “worldbeating” tracing system at the end of May, the Prime Minister said it “will change people’s lives”.
Baroness Dido Harding, executive chairwoman of NHS Test and Trace, was involved when drawing up a map for Leicester’s lockdown zone, with county council leader Nick Rushton revealing she wanted to include the whole county.
The Public Health England report that put Leicester into lockdown, revealed Leicester cases “form part of a current study on the utility of backward contact tracing which is being piloted across England”.
It said Leicester residents have been included in the pilot but that just 11 cases have completed the study successfully. The target was 50.
The NHS test and trace service ensures anyone who develops symptoms of coronavirus can quickly be tested to find out if they have the virus.
It also includes targeted testing of NHS and social care staff and care home residents who do not have symptoms and helps trace close recent contacts of anyone who tests positive for coronavirus and, if necessary, notifies them they must self-isolate.
The service’s website said: “We are introducing this service to help return life more to normal, in a way that is safe and protects our NHS and social care.
“The service will allow us to trace the spread of the virus and isolate new infections and play a vital role in giving us early warning if the virus is increasing again, locally or nationally.”
National statistics, released weekly, show that between June 25 and July 1, 3,903 people tested positive for coronavirus and 4,347 people had their case transferred to the contact tracing system – the figure includes some cases from the previous week.
Of these, 3,366 people (77.4 per cent) were reached and asked to provide details of recent close contacts – 2,552 provided details of one or more person and 814 said they had no recent close contacts.
As a result of this, between June 25 and July 1, 14,892 people were identified as close contacts. Of these, 10,547 people were asked to self-isolate.
Baroness Harding said: “We are determined to make sure that everyone who needs a test knows they can get one.
“For the first time, NHS Test and Trace has worked with Leicester City Council and local health partners to take this service to people’s doorsteps in Leicester – with door-to-door visits to offer on-the-spot tests to those who need one, alongside advice on how and when to get tested if they start to show symptoms of Covid-19.
“This is a significant step in making it as easy as possible for everyone to get a test where we have an area with high prevalence, to ultimately help stop the spread of the virus.
“I am immensely proud of all we have achieved, building a system from scratch which is now able to offer a door-to-door service where it is needed most.”