Left without a Test and Trace
£37bn FAILURE AXED AS CRISIS LOOMS
THE £37billion Test and Trace scheme is already being dismantled, despite fears of a new Covid crisis.
A leaked Whitehall dossier this week laid bare Government plans to axe it next year.
But the Sunday People understands the system – run by outsourcing giants Sitel and Serco – is being wound up even earlier.
Up to 10,000 contact tracers and call handlers have been told their jobs will go, insiders say.
And although Serco refused to comment, sources say it will not renew its contract when it expires on November 30.
Over 40,000 new cases were recorded on consecutive days this week.
And as a fourth wave sweeps Europe, experts fear ministers have made the wrong choice.
Independent Sage’s
Prof Susan Michie warned: “If we want to avoid the kind of lockdowns we are seeing in mainland Europe we need to step up our efforts in managing the pandemic, not start shutting them down.
“The World Health Organisation says a working test,
trace and isolate system is a cornerstone of pandemic management. Transmission rates in this country are still high and we are not even into winter yet.
“It is not a situation a country like ours should be accepting.”
Currently, people self-isolating are contacted by Test and Trace workers to check they are complying with the rules.
But the calls are set to be axed, with the 119 Covid phone service absorbed into the existing 111 NHS non-emergency network.
Different systems are in place in Wales and Scotland.