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The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in England is now double the number recorded when the country’s test and trace system was launched in late May.
Official figures show that 18,371 new people tested positive for COVID-19 in England between 3 September and 9 September, a substantial increase of 167% compared to the end of August.
Only a third of the test kits returned within 24 hours during that period, contradicting the promise made by Boris Johnson that all tests would be done in one day in late June.
The number of positives coronavirus cases have increased across the country since the beginning of July, according to data from the Department of Health and Social Assistance.
The test numbers increased 27% in the most recent week compared to the previous week, after remaining at consistent levels between the end of July and the end of August, the new figures reveal.
There has also been a 74% increase in the number of people referred to the Test and Trace service, three times more than in early August.
The numbers show that 82.6% of those people were contacted and asked to provide information about their contacts.
In total, 73.9% of those contacts were successfully reached and they were asked to self-isolate, which is similar to the levels observed from mid-July onwards.
The number of contacts identified as part of the scheme for that week increased 255% compared to the end of August, according to the figures.
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week announced plans for a mass testing program dubbed “Operation Moonshot” which would see “millions” of people cleaned up every day.
It would cost the government £ 10bn, but it is what ministers hope it can return the UK to normal before a vaccine is available.
But there has been an increase in criticism about the testability, and people in England have been told to travel to Welsh or Scotland for your “nearest” test center.
Johnson admitted in the Commons Liaison Committee on Wednesday that demand for evidence has “massively accelerated” in the past fortnight amid a surge in cases.
“I know many people have had maddening experiences and I sympathize with them,” he said, but promised that capacity would reach 500,000 a day by the end of October.
Opposition MPs have described the testing “fiasco” as “increasingly out of control”, and members of the public have called it “a disaster”.
