Revolt over Test and Trace contact details

Quarter of those testing positive for Covid refuse to provide data amid surge in numbers self-isolating

RISING numbers of those people testing positive are refusing to hand over details of close contacts, as the number of people forced to self-isolate reached a record high.

Statistics show almost a quarter of those who tested positive for Covid in the week ending July 21 would not provide details of recent close contacts.

In total, 76.9 per cent provided such details – with compliance falling by almost 10 per cent in the last month. Weekly figures for England show almost 1.3 million isolation orders sent out by app or NHS Test and Trace.

The figures show 678,102 people were pinged in the week ending July 21, up 11 per cent from the previous week. It is the third consecutive week that more than half a million people have been told to self-isolate by the app.

Separate figures show 597,260 were identified as close contacts of a positive case by NHS Test and Trace – a 25 per cent jump in one week.

The statistics show that 307,758 tested positive for coronavirus, an 18 per cent rise in a week, and the highest number since mid January. The report also suggests that those contacted by call handlers may be increasingly reluctant to respond to calls, or to provide details of contacts.

The proportion who tested positive for Covid but were not reached by the system rose to 14.8 per cent, the highest proportion since October 2020. The category covers those who do not respond to efforts by NHS Test and Trace to contact them.

Anyone testing positive is asked to provide details of contacts from the 48 hours before symptoms developed.

But there is increasing reluctance, with the percentage agreeing to hand over details of at least one contact down to 76.9 per cent, a drop from 78.9 per cent the previous week, and from 85.1 per cent four weeks ago. While there is a legal duty in England for people to self-isolate if they test positive or are contacted by NHS Test and Trace, this does not extend to notifications via the app, although the Government strongly advises people to do so.

The number of PCR tests continues to rise, with 1.9 million carried out, compared with 1.75 million the previous week. However, the number of lateral flow tests conducted dropped slightly, from 4.86 million to 4.6 million.

Office for National Statistics data found a sharp fall in the percentage of young adults complying with self-isolation orders, with one in four under 34s failing to comply after testing positive.

The survey shows 75 per cent of respondents aged 18 to 34 reported fully adhering to isolation requirements if they tested positive. When the same question was asked in May 88 per cent said they were complying. Across all ages, adherence fell from 86 per cent in May to 79 per cent in early July.

Data also reveal no difference between amber and red countries, when it comes to the proportion of positive Covid cases being picked up by testing on arrival.

A former lighthouse laboratory that was shut down in March will resume processing coronavirus tests amid concerns over capacity. The Charnwood Campus site in Loughborough, Leics, did not have it’s contract renewed by the Department of Health and Social Care five months ago because it was “consolidating” its network capacity.

US company Dante Labs will operate there again in August. It comes amid concerns that the UK does not have enough testing capacity to accommodate the Government’s change of selfisolation rules from Aug 16.

Separate NHS Test and Trace statistics show 1.2 per cent of people arriving in England from amber or red countries are testing positive, two days after arrival. When later tests were taken, at eight days, a higher proportion of positive cases were found among those from amber countries, with 0.8 per cent testing positive, compared with 0.6 per cent from red countries.

However, with heavy restrictions on travel from red countries – which is only allowed for British nationals, and those with residence rights – the total number of positive tests from amber countries was higher.