Test and Trace hits 84% success rate after weeks of failure to meet target

3 September 2020, 10:17

The Test and Trace system has hit above its 80% target
The Test and Trace system has hit above its 80% target. Picture: PA Images
Ewan Quayle

By Ewan Quayle

The success rate for contacting Covid-19 patients through the Test and Trace system has hit 84 per cent after weeks of failure to meet its own target.

The new figure was announced by Health Secretary Matt Hancock while speaking with LBC's Nick Ferrari, and he hit back at criticism being directed at the system and celebrated the new figure - which is above the recommended target.

He told LBC: "The number of people - when they tell us who they've been in contact with - we've now managed to get in contact with 84 per cent of them and the standard we were asked to meet was 80 per cent.

"The contact tracing system is working - it can always improve and it's important that we keep working to improve it - but it is working effectively to keep the virus under control," he added.

"The combination of the Test and Trace system, the social distancing people are doing and the quarantine rules are at the moment keep the number of cases in this country flat."

Hancock announces £500m package for super fast Covid test

Hailing the new found success of the system, Mr Hancock also announced a £500 million funding package for a new test that can deliver a result in just 20-minutes.

"There are new technologies that are coming down the track, so we can not only much more easily test people who might have symptoms or who we think might has the virus.

"But also we want to roll it out much more broadly - mass testing - to give people the confidence that if they test negative they can then go about their normal business."

It follows months of failure to meet the 80 per cent target experts say is required to keep the community spread of the virus under control.

The system came under fire when it was revealed that hundreds of contact tracers, who had been employed for weeks, were yet to make a single phone call to a person who tested positive for Covid-19 or their contacts.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said he is aiming for mass testing
Health secretary Matt Hancock said he is aiming for mass testing. Picture: PA Images

It signals a shift in strategy from the Government towards mass testing - a method that was dismissed earlier on in the pandemic.

Mr Hancock added: "Over the last few month we've massively expanded the amount of coronavirus testing as.a country, and now have one of the biggest testing programmes in the world - but I am not satisfied with that.

Read more: Covid-19 carriers 'aren't giving contacts to Test and Trace over fears of financial difficulty'

"We know that other than social distancing, testing is one our primary defences against he virus virus, it's one of our big lines of defence - to find the people who are positive and for them to isolate an their contacts to isolate so that we stop the spread of the virus."

There are also concerns over the number of people following the two week self-isolation period due to financial hardship.

A new Government scheme in Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle, and Oldham is helping pay towards missed wages while they are asked to stay indoors, and is expected to be further rolled out if the trial is a success.

You can watch Matt Hancock's full interview with LBC below.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaks to LBC

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Many Britons again faced freezing temperatures overnight

Brits brace for Storm Bert: Met Office issues amber weather warning for snow - with up to 40cm set to fall

Harshita

'We will never forget you till our last breath': Family of Harshita Brella pay tribute - as manhunt continues for killer

Live
Gatwick airport.

LIVE: Gatwick Airport South Terminal evacuated after 'suspicious item found'

Exclusive
Negative images from Band Aid did 'more bad than good' for Africa, says rapper Fuse ODG

Negative images from Band Aid did 'more bad than good' for Africa, rapper Fuse ODG tells LBC

Breaking
Gatwick Airport South Terminal evacuated after 'suspicious bag found near train station' as bomb squad called in

Gatwick Airport South Terminal evacuated after 'suspicious bag found near train station' as bomb squad called in

Simone White will be 'sincerely missed', a tribute to her has said

Devastated colleagues pay tribute to British lawyer as Laos ‘methanol mass poisoning’ death toll rises to six

Colette Fairbanks was sacked after sharing ‘offensive’ posts

Brexit views not protected from workplace discrimination, tribunal rules after woman sacked over ‘offensive’ posts

The Metropolitan Police carried out a controlled detonation of a suspect package near the US embassy in London

US Embassy in London on 'lockdown' as police investigate 'suspect package'

Coleen Rooney said her husband Wayne has not been forgiven in the court of public opinion

Coleen Rooney opens up on Wayne's 'difficult' mistakes as she says he hasn't been forgiven in court of public opinion

Many of the victims were staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel

Laos hostel owner arrested after Brit lawyer becomes fifth tourist to die in 'poisoning'

Holly Bowles, 19, from Melbourne, has died in the ‘methanol mass poisoning’

Sixth person dies in Laos ‘methanol mass poisoning’ as hostel owner detained by police

Exclusive
Feargal Sharkey tests the River Test with LBC

'We're destroying what should be the finest river on Earth': Feargal Sharkey tests the River Test with LBC

Household energy bills will rise again from January

Household energy bills to rise by £21 a year from January in further blow for Brits this winter

Putin issued a chilling threat to the West as he confirmed Russia launched a ballistic missile against Ukraine

'The world must respond': Zelenskyy warns that Putin is 'testing' the West after confirmed use of new ballistic missile

Matt Gaetz withdraws as Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general amid sexual misconduct allegations

Donald Trump nominates Pam Bondi for attorney general hours after Matt Gaetz withdraws

Starmer has backed the International Criminal Court over its arrest warrant for Netanyahu

Netanyahu faces arrest if he travels to Britain as Starmer vows to enforce International Criminal Court warrant