ENGLAND’s test and trace scheme is being launched today with 25,000 contact tracers employed to carry out the calls and emails.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the first contact tracing would be done for those coronavirus tests came back positive yesterday – some 2,000 people.
From now on, anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 should request a test, either online or by calling 119.
If the test comes back negative, everyone in the household can go back to normal. But if the test comes back positive, the NHS Test and Trace team or local public health teams will get in touch, via text, email or phone call, to discuss whom the person has come into close contact with and places they have visited.
Any of those contacts deemed at risk of catching the virus will be emailed or texted with instructions to go into isolation for 14 days, whether they are sick or not.
A contact tracing app is still being trialled on the Isle of Wight.
The idea of the test and trace system is to enable continued easing of the national lockdown restrictions by clamping down on transmission of the virus at a very local level.
The Government has come under fire for not involving local councils in a contact tracing system at an earlier stage of the outbreak.
The British Medical Association said that the launch of today’s programme is a ’step in the right direction’ but that it would need significant resources, monitoring and vigilance to be effective in preventing a second wave of infection.
’Success will not just hinge on the availability of testing and delivering test results quickly but on rapid identification of contacts and support to enable them to self-isolate,’ said the BMA.
’There is a very real concern that as funding has only now been made available at local level, and as much of the local contact tracing will need to be done in person, there is the potential for some of these systems to become overwhelmed with the sudden surge in demand. It is vital that adequate support is on hand, to enable all directors of public health and Public Health England consultants leading these local systems, to deliver this effectively.
’The safety of the public and key workers is paramount and given the limits of the test itself, self-isolation of those with symptoms and their contacts is even more vital. This will require good communication with the public at a national level.’
Are you working as a contact tracer? Have you been tested recently and asked to provide your recent contacts? Let us know your experiences of the system - [email protected]