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

Four girls suffer 'potentially life-changing injuries' during visit to UK fast-food restaurant

Four girls suffer 'potentially life-changing injuries' during visit to UK fast-food restaurant

Firearms officer who shot and killed Jean Charles de Menezes following failed 21/7 attacks speaks for the first time

Firearms officer who shot and killed Jean Charles de Menezes following failed 21/7 attacks breaks silence 20 years on

Police Line Do Not Cross ribbon on a London street following a suspected bomb reported in the area.

Schoolgirl, 10, dies after being bitten by family dog in North Yorkshire as police launch launch investigation

WATCH: Three family members of Sara Sharif were arrested at Gatwick Airport for her muder

WATCH: Moment police board plane and arrest fugitive family of schoolgirl Sara Sharif on suspicion of murder

Craig pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual offences against a teenage pupil

Ex-teacher jailed after he 'groomed' and sexually assaulted pupil in classroom cupboard

A 22-year-old woman died from a stab injury at Spenlow House on Jamaica Road, Bermondsey

Boy, 17, jailed for stabbing woman, 22, to death in 'laughing gas-fuelled row' on Christmas Eve

Jackie Scully will trek 100km across the Sahara desert to mark 10 years since she was given the all-clear

Breast cancer survivor to trek 100km across Sahara desert to mark 10 years since getting all-clear

Flooding And Heavy Rain In Valencia Region Of Spain

What we have seen in Spain these last days is a preview of the future if we do not take action on climate change

Kemi Badenoch has been elected as the new Conservative Party leader

New Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says 'huge job' ahead involves 'people we want to bring back to Conservative Party'

Janey Godley has died at the age of 63

Scottish comedian Janey Godley died in hospital 'surrounded by her loved ones' aged 63 following battle with cancer

Exclusive
Anthony Scaramucci

Anthony Scaramucci says 'garbage' comments made at Trump rally have 'lit up' Puerto Ricans - and could swing election

billy nighy

Billy Nighy 'stole complete works of Shakespeare from library' to prepare for drama school audition

v

Winner in Conservative leadership contest to be announced this morning

Palma is on lockdown amid warnings of heavy rain

Majorca on lockdown as tourist hotspot faces flooding horror after storm kills more than 200

UK GP visiting senior woman at home

Care homes and GPs could face closure under Labour tax plans, health leaders warn

Rebekah Vardy 'threatens to reignite war with Coleen Rooney'

Rebekah Vardy launches appeal against Wagatha Christie £1.8m costs ruling