Public told they have ‘duty’ to test and trace
Everyone who has come into contact with virus sufferer must self-isolate for 14 days
THE public will be asked to do its “civic duty” to get the country out of lockdown as the Government confirms its new “test and trace” scheme will rely on individuals to “do the right thing”.
From today, anyone with symptoms of coronavirus will be tested and, if they are found to be positive, told to hand over details of anyone with whom they have had close contact.
Those people will receive a text, email or telephone call telling them to self-isolate for up to 14 days and to book their own test if symptoms develop. Even if the test proves negative they will be asked to continue isolating.
It is hoped that the system will soon effectively replace the lockdown.
Boris Johnson admitted that it was a “huge imposition” on the nation. He said the regime would be voluntary at first, but could become mandatory, with fines for those who did not comply with quarantine or failed to give details of their friends and family.
The Prime Minister made the announcement before a Commons committee during which he was again questioned about Dominic Cummings, his special adviser, who drove to Durham from London in an apparent breach of lockdown guidelines.
Mr Johnson said it was time to “move on” and denied the episode could lead to people being less likely to make the sacrifices now being asked of them.
Last night Penny Mordaunt, the paymaster general, became the latest Conservative MP to speak out on the issue when she told a constituent in an email that she believed Mr Cummings had “undermined key public health messages”. But Mr Johnson denied the Cummings episode would make the public “far less energetic” about adhering to the new system.
Today the Prime Minister formally reviews the lockdown rules after nine weeks. He also suggested he may drop the virus alert level from four to three, allowing for some more relaxations.
Mr Johnson said the new test and trace system would place a burden on a “tiny minority” of people, but could free the rest of the population from lockdown. He said: “It is a huge imposition, but it will be on a very small minority of the population. And I would just say to everybody that it’s worth it, because that is the tool that other countries have used to unlock the prison, to make sure that we can go forward.
“And so, that captivity for a tiny minority for a short time will allow us gradually to release 66 million people from the current situation.”
The system could see up to 10,000 people a day receive text messages or phone calls warning they have been near a person who has tested positive.
It was supposed to be backed by an app, meaning those who had been in proximity to those who tested positive would be automatically contacted, and urged to self-isolate.
But its roll-out was repeatedly delayed, with officials last night refusing to commit to any date for its launch.
Last night Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said testing and tracing must become “a new way of life”. He said people had a “civic duty” to follow instructions to self isolate.
Mr Johnson told the liaison committee: “We will be asking people to stay at home. If they don’t follow that advice, what we will be saying is we will consider what sanctions may be necessary.”
The system will see people with symptoms tested and then provided with a result within days. Yesterday, Baroness Harding, head of NHS Test
267,240 CORONAVIRUS CASES IN UK
37,460 DEATHS +412
117,013 DAILY TESTS 17,013 ABOVE TARGET
and Trace, said 84 per cent of tests gave results in 24 hours while 95 per cent provided results within 48 hours.
If the results were positive the person would be put in touch with a contact tracer who would ask for details of “close contacts”. These would be defined as anyone who had been within two metres of an infected person for at least 15 minutes.
It came amid concerns that some people could be reluctant to hand over details of friends, family or colleagues, fearing repercussions from those who faced financial losses from two weeks off work. There were also fears individuals could be falsely named maliciously.
Last night, Lady Harding said the system of manual tracking would “enable the vast majority of us to be able to get on with our lives in a much more normal way.”
Yesterday modelling for Sage, the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies, warned that unless testing was speeded up, the system would cut new infections by only about 5 per cent.
The study – by the Data Evaluation and Learning for Viral Epidemics group – which had been handed to Sage, suggested faster turnarounds could increase this to 15 per cent.
Prof John Newton, national coordinator of Test and Trace, yesterday said it would be difficult to achieve a fast turnaround for home tests, so those contacted would be sent to drivethrough sites and testing centres where possible.
He also suggested officials expected mistakes as the scheme was rolled out, saying: “Clearly, when you launch something of this size, something will go wrong somewhere”.
Prof Newton urged the public “to bear with us as there may be some glitches”, but that he was confident the basic programme was “very solid”.
Meanwhile, Simon Hoare, the Tory MP, suggested to Mr Johnson that the nation would be “far less energetic” about obeying future restrictions as “a direct result of the activities of your senior adviser”.
Mr Johnson said: “If, just suppose for a second that you were right, which I don’t accept, all the more reason now for us to be consistent and clear in our message driving those key messages.”
A senior Tory MP commented that “they are rolling this out now, when we’ve lost the good will of the nation because of Cummings”.