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The outsourced test and trace system has failed to reach nearly a quarter of a million close contacts of people who have tested positive for coronavirus, according to a new analysis.
Private companies Serco and Sitel were unable to reach 245,481 contacts in England, either online or from call centers for four months, losing nearly 40 percent of contacts, the figures show.
Labor said the figures show that testing and tracking is “on the brink of collapse” and highlight the need for a brief national shutdown to allow the government to fix the system.
The government defended the system, saying that testing and tracing is “breaking chains of transmission” and had told 900,000 people to isolate themselves.
Boris Johnson promised in May that the £ 12bn system would be “the best in the world” and a successful tracing program has long been hailed as a way to ease lockdown measures.
Labor analysis of official figures released this week showed that more than 26,000 people in the week to October 7 were not contacted in north-west England, where the Liverpool and Lancashire region have been mired in the most severe restrictions.
The prime minister has threatened to impose the Level 3 measures in neighboring Greater Manchester, even if local leaders do not give their consent because they are demanding more financial support.
The figures showed that private firms did reach 372,458 contacts in the data period, May 28 to October 7.
“Complex” cases, which include outbreaks related to hospitals, nursing homes, prisons or schools, are handled by local health protection teams, whose statistics show they have much higher success rates.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We continue to push for local contact tracing as part of our commitment to being led locally, with more than 100 local tracing associations operating now, and more to come.”
He added that by including local teams, 84% of contacts had been traced “where communication details were provided.”
