Blunders over test and trace ‘ hit fight with virus’
Error in recording cases is ‘ unacceptable’, says expert
A LEADING YORKSHIRE expert has branded recent blunders from the Government’s test and trace scheme “unacceptable” as a senior Minister admitted the data issues which stopped thousands of Covid cases being recorded “should never have happened”.
The weekly rate of new Covid19 cases has soared in dozens of areas of England, following the addition of nearly 16,000 cases that went unreported because of a technical error with an Excel spreadsheet.
The problem has led to a delay in efforts by NHS Test and Trace to find the contacts of those who tested positive for the virus, in some cases by around a week.
Manchester now has the highest rate in England, with 2,927 cases recorded in the seven days to October2– the equivalent of 529.4 cases per 100,000 people, up from 246.4 in the previous week. Analysis, based on Public Health England data published yesterday, also shows sharp rises in Leeds and Sheffield. Leeds City Council said the weekly Covid- 19 infection rate in the city was now 216.3 per 100,000 people – up from 138 last week.
Dr Stephen Griffin, a viral oncologist based in the University of Leeds, said it would be difficult for local and national governments to plan responses to Covid cases if they can’t trust the numbers.
He said: “One important aspect in the mix- up was that we really needed to understand whether the local measures were working – it’s going to be hard to understand that now.
“They need to get us some concrete numbers on whether the rates are coming down. It’s really hard to get to the bottom of it if you can’t rely on your test numbers – it’s hard to know what it going on.”
The computer glitch was revealed over the weekend. The resulting figures showed official infection numbers ballooning in other northern cities, with Manchester and Liverpool the worst affected.
“We need to look at the test and trace system and the way they are delivering it – it’s unacceptable for this to happen”, said Dr Griffin. “We have excellent experts in public health in this country and we should be trusting that.”
It follows a local lockdown introduced in Leeds last month in which it is against the law, save for special circumstances, for individuals to enter another person’s home orgarden. Government also advises households not to mix in public places.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs that a technical problem over the weekend occurred with the system “that brings together” data from NHS test sites and tests processed by commercial firms.
He said: “This incident should never have happened but the team has acted swiftly to minimise its impact and now it is critical that we work together to put this right and make sure it never happens again.”
CHANCELLOR RISHI Sunak said there would be “hard choices” to come as he attempts to balance the books following the coronavirus crisis.
Mr Sunak told the Conservative Party conference that he could not continue to “borrow our way out of a hole”.
He acknowledged that the pandemic had already forced Ministers to make “difficult trade- offs and decisions” but promised the “overwhelming might of the British state” was being used to help as many people as possible.
Mr Sunak used his address to the virtual conference to praise Prime Minister Boris Johnson, following rumours about a rift between the two men, fuelled by the Prime Minister staying away from the Commons when the Chancellor unveiled his winter economy plan in September.
The Chancellor, who is MP for Richmond in North Yorkshire, and the Prime Minister visited a renewable energy firm in central London together yesterday ahead of the speech and Mr Sunak praised Mr Johnson for being right on the “big calls”.
But Mr Sunak warned that the UK was only “part way through” the coronavirus outbreak, which had already reached “deep into our economy and society”.
The Government has already committed more than £ 190bn for people, firms and services but elements of that support – including the furlough scheme which ends this month – are now being withdrawn.
Mr Sunak said: “This Government has never been blind to the difficult trade- offs and decisions coronavirus has forced upon on us.”
The Government had “stood between the people and the danger and we always will”.
The changes to the economy cannot be ignored and no Chancellor could protect every job or business, Mr Sunak said.
“The pain of knowing it only grows with each passing day,” he added.
“So, I am committing myself to a single priority – to create, support and extend opportunity to as many people as I can.
“Because even if this moment is more difficult than any you have ever faced, even if it feels like there is no hope, I am telling you that there is, and that the overwhelming might of the British
state will be placed at your service.”
Ministers have already set out plans to help people retrain or acquire new skills and Mr Sunak has extended financial support schemes for firms.
Balancing the books will either require spending cuts or tax rises in the future and Mr Sunak acknowledged there would have to be action in the medium term.
“We have a sacred responsibility to future generations to leave the public finances strong, and through careful management of our economy, this Conservative Government will always balance the books,” he said.
“If instead we argue there is no limit on what we can spend, that we can simply borrow our way out of any hole, what is the point in us?
“I have never pretended there is some easy cost- free answer. Hard choices are everywhere.”