Coronavirus: Test and Trace failing to reach almost 30% of close contacts, latest data shows

The government’s contact-tracing programme failed to reach almost 30 per cent of close contacts of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in England, the latest figures show.

Some 71.6 per cent of close contacts were reached through the Test and Trace system in the week ending 23 September, according to data published by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

This is down from 76.3 per cent in the previous week, but above the 69.9 per cent for the week to 2 September, which is the lowest weekly figure recorded to date.

The DHSC said that the percentage of close contacts being reached as “returned to similar proportions seen when Test and Trace launched” in May.

A total of 87,587 people were identified as coming into close contact with someone who had tested positive between 17 September and 23 September.

The number of contacts identified increased by 5 per cent compared to the previous week and has more than doubled over the past 4 weeks.

For cases handled by local health protection teams, 97.6 per cent of contacts were reached and asked to self-isolate. In contrast, cases handled online or by call centres returned a 64.3 successful contact rate.

The latest data also showed that the median time to receive a result after taking a test in-person has decreased, falling from 30 to 25 hours.

The percentage of people who received their ‘in-person’ test results within a 24-hour window has increased from the previous set of figures, rising from 28.2 per cent to 38.1 per cent.

In-person testing takes place at regional and local sites or mobile testing units.

Prime minister Boris Johnson had pledged that, by the end of June, the results of all in-person tests would be back within 24 hours.

Just 2.9 per cent of people in England who used a home test kit for Covid-19 received their result within 24 hours.

There was also a 61 per cent increase in positive cases in England's latest weekly data, with more than four times the number of cases recorded as there were at the end of August, the data showed.

A total of 31,373 people tested positive over the specified time period.

The DHSC claimed that testing capacity in the UK across all pillars between 17 and 23 September rose to 2,660,271 tests - a five per cent increase on the previous week.

Meanwhile, the median distance travelled by people who go for a test is now 4.3 miles, down from 5.2 miles the previous week, the government said.

Baroness Dido Harding, interim executive chairwoman of the National Institute for Health Protection, said: "One in eight people in England have now received a test at least once and with nearly 500 testing sites across the UK, the median distance to a test site is now just 4.3 miles.

"These are achievements in which everyone involved can be immensely proud.”

The official spokesperson for the prime minister said: “It’s important to remember that we have set up a very large-scale testing network almost from scratch in a matter of months.

“Test and trace has reached over 588,000 people and given them advice to self-isolate and hopefully therefore reduce the spread of the virus.

“We have been testing more people than any other country in Europe.

“But at the same time, we have seen demand for tests grow and we are working hard to turn testing results around as quickly as possible and to further increase capacity.”