Coronavirus: tracers ask for more than 100,000 to isolate themselves

More than 100,000 people in England have been asked to isolate themselves by contact trackers in the past three weeks to contain the coronavirus, the data shows.

All individuals have had close contact with infected people and the new NHS Test and Trace service has told them to stay home.

But the service, which launched in late May, continues to fight to engage people who tested positive.

A quarter of those who tested positive could not be contacted by tracers.

Meanwhile, data on infection rates suggests that the amount of virus has not increased despite easing restrictions in the past six weeks.

• Does the UK have a coronavirus under control?

What does the infection data tell us?

There are three key sources that provide evidence of infection rates, and overall it appears that they are declining.

The government has just released the latest estimate for the R number: the rate at which infections spread.

It is between 0.7 and 0.9. A number below one means that the number of new infections is decreasing.

The seven-day average for the number of confirmed daily cases is currently 843, down from nearly 4,000 in the week the prime minister announced the first steps to close the shutdown.

However, the surveillance program of the Office of National Statistics suggests that the drop rates may have stabilized.

The findings released Thursday found that 14 of the 24,500 people tested in the community in England were infected.

This equals 0.09% of the currently infected population, or one in 1,100 people.

It is a small increase from the previous week, but not enough to be considered statistically significant.

What about attempts to trace your contacts?

The NHS Test and Trace service has tried to trace the contacts of more than 20,000 people who have tested positive for Covid-19 since its launch in late May.

Some 15,000 have provided details, giving the tracking service nearly 130,000 contacts.

About 114,000 of them, about nine out of 10, have been contacted by the service during their first three weeks and have been asked to self-isolate in their homes.

In the most recent week, performance in terms of unattractive numbers and numbers of contacts reached decreased slightly.

Baroness Dido Harding, director of the service, said variability from week to week was to be expected.

She said she was happy with the performance so far, saying it would improve in the coming weeks and months and that it would play a vital role in “slowing down” the spread of the virus.

Again, the service has been unable to provide details on how quickly people are contacted after a positive result.

Government advisers believe that contacts should be within 48 hours for the service to be more effective.

Public ‘must play its role’

Professor Keith Neal, an infectious disease expert at the University of Nottingham, said the biggest problem lies in the attitude of the public.

He said the numbers presented for testing were thought to be lower than the actual number of people infected, while the fact that one in four positive people did not participate in the system was “worrisome.”

“These can only be ordered by members of the public, as they require people to take appropriate steps to reduce the spread.”

It occurs when the NHS Test and Trace program has started testing test centers without an appointment. The pilots are held in London, Newcastle, Rochdale and Slough.

They involve buildings as well as outdoor venues, including a basketball court.

Currently, the tests are available in hospitals, mobile test units, regional direct access centers and through a postal service.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have their own location services.

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