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The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in England is almost three times higher than at the end of August, official data shows.
New numbers from the NHS test and trace system show that 19,278 new people tested positive between September 10-16.
The cases are now double the number recorded when the system launched in late May.
But the plan is also showing signs of difficulty, and turnaround times for in-person swab tests take longer to yield results.
Only 28.2% of the results of the face-to-face tests were received within 24 hours compared to 33.3% the previous week, although the number of tests performed was similar.
However, the number of people transferred to the contact tracing system, 21,268, increased 37% compared to the previous week, a continuation of the strong uptrend seen since the beginning of August.
The proportion of people reached through tracking has decreased slightly, 77.7% compared to 83.8% the previous week.
Figures show 77,556 people were identified who came into close contact with someone who had tested positive, an increase of 16%.
Of these, 74.7% were reached.
