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A total of 149,253 people tested positive for Covid-19 in England at least once a week through Nov. 4, according to the latest figures from Test and Trace.
This is the highest weekly number since Test and Trace was launched in late May and is an 8% increase in positive cases from the previous week.
The ailing system, which has faced damning criticism, showed little improvement in its ability to contact people who might have been exposed.
But it is still well below the level experts say it should work to help control the virus properly.
Around 60.4% of the close contacts of people who tested positive for Covid-19 in England were reached in the week ending November 4.
This is very slightly higher than the 60.2% of the prior week and is also just above the record low of 60.1% for the week through October 14.
For cases handled by local health protection teams, 99.1% of the contacts were reached and asked to self-isolate in the week ending November 4.
For cases handled either online or by call centers, 59.0% of close contacts were contacted and asked to isolate themselves.
It comes as top doctors have said that it is “vital that lessons be learned” from the pandemic, as the official death toll from coronavirus in the UK has exceeded 50,000.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Baroness Dido Harding said: “Along with behavioral changes such as washing hands, covering the face and following government guidelines on social distancing, NHS Test and Trace is a valuable tool to stop transmission and reduce the rate of R.
“Despite the growing number of positive cases, NHS Test and Trace is reaching more people and doing so more quickly. Ultimately, this means that we are finding the virus where it lurks and breaking the chains of transmission to keep people safe.
“We are making another improvement to the contact tracing program to reduce calls to the same family home, which should improve the experience people have when using the service.”
Health Minister Lord Bethell said: “Through a massive and concerted effort by everyone involved in NHS Test and Trace, we have seen the number of test sites have increased to 650, the testing capacity exceeds 500,000. per day and more than two million people have been successfully contacted by our contact markers.
“This is a great achievement, of which everyone involved should be proud. However, our efforts do not end there. The mass test driver currently underway in Liverpool, and the announcement this week that rapid tests will be available to the Directors of Public Health “are proof of our continued commitment to expanding and improving the NHS Test and Trace program.”
(Image: PA)
The British Medical Association (BMA) said the figures were a “terrible indictment” of the government’s lack of preparation and organization with regard to handling the virus.
The latest government data showed that 50,365 people had died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, making it the first country in Europe to exceed 50,000 deaths.
Responding to the news, Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, Chairman of the Board of BMA, said: “This is a point that should never have been reached.
“In March, Professor Steve Powis said that if the public adhered to the national lockdown, the total number of victims could be kept below 20,000.
“Today’s figure is a terrible indictment of poor preparation, poor government organization, insufficient infection control measures, coupled with late and often confusing messages to the public.”
(Image: REUTERS)
He added: “As we look to hope for a vaccine, it is vital that the lessons of the past nine months are learned to ensure that nothing on this scale happens again.”
Meanwhile, scientists remain hopeful about the prospect of a vaccine, and England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said the government was preparing for the largest vaccination program “in decades.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said everyone who is eligible should “definitely” get a vaccine, dismissing the so-called anti-vaccine arguments as “total nonsense.”
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