Test and Trace fails to find 170 people in Hartlepool

Department for Health and Social Care data shows 1,681 people were told to self-isolate after being in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 in the week to July 14 – the latest available data – up from 1,472 the week before,

The figures show 1,851 people who came into close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 in Hartlepool were transferred to Test and Trace, meaning 170 were not then reached by the service.

Contact tracers ask new patients to give details for anyone they were in close contact with in the 48 hours before their symptoms started.

In England, more than 223,000 cases were transferred to the contact tracing system between July 8 and 14, with 475,500 people identified as coming into close contact with someone who had tested positive – the highest since the week ending January 20.

Separate figures also show that 618,903 alerts were sent to users of the NHS Covid-19 app in England and Wales telling them to self-isolate.

Isolation is recommended but not mandatory if someone is alerted by the app.

Those contacted by Test and Trace, meanwhile, have a legal duty to self-isolate.

The Government has announced plans to allow firms in sectors including transport, energy, local councils and digital infrastructure to deploy the daily testing of workers as an alternative to self-isolation.

Firms will have to apply, with the expectation that Government departments will now be inundated with requests.