Inside Health

An effective test-andtrace system saves lives, says Gwenetta Curry

Tid-19.

Currently the UK has reached 3.16 million Covid-19 cases and 83,203 deaths across the countr y, and the new variants of the virus have presented more challenges for the nation.

The UK looks on at countries in Asia and par ts of Europe who are slowly returning to some level of normalcy while we enter our third series of lockdowns. Analyzing the ways other countries have been successful in their responses and recognising our failures will be impor tant for the fight against the surge of Covid-19 infections.

Japan has had 1,520 deaths in a population of 127 million and S outh Korea has experienced 393 deaths in a population of 52 million. B oth of these countries avoided that lockdown saga we have experienced by simply creating an effective track-and-trace system.

The Japanese and Korean contract tracers focused on identifying clusters and various superspreading events. This approach allowed for the immediate isolation of the infected group to prevent the spread to the broader societ y.

The New York State system allows for the contact tracers to suppor t people with resources to maintain quarantine, such as groceries, household supplies, childcare, medical care or supplies.

Their "Take Care” system allows for those who test positive for Covid-19 and their close contacts to isolate separately in a hotel for up to ten days, free of charge or at home to pre - vent the spread. These systems have had a major impact on the reducing the spread of the virus in New York because people did not have to risk their lives and the lives of others to self-isolate.

This is a major contrast to the effor ts in the UK where many struggle with the decision to isolate or continue to go to work. The abilit y to self-isolate after exposure to the virus is directly connected to the t ype of occupation that one has and its stabilit y.

If you lack access to paid time off, then you are more likely to risk continuing to go to work rather than isolating for the required number of days. According to Unison’s Black workers and Covid-19 repor t, access to sick pay has emerged as a key component of infection control. Black workers are less likely to receive full pay and more likely to rely on statutor y sick pay. These inequalities must be addressed to increase the safet y of all members of societ y.

Culturally competent communication is a key component in maintaining control of the virus.

Currently health guidance is given only in English which limits the access of information to non-native English speakers. Training contact tracers to ser ve diverse communities is another area that has been overlooked in the UK track-and-trace process.

Contact tracers told Sky News they are missing oppor tunities to contact migrant workers who test positive due to the lack of translators. With migrant workers making up a good propor tion of front-facing workers there need to be more effor ts in place to pro - tect their health.

Dr Gwenetta Curry is an Edinburgh University lecturer on race, ethnicity and health