NHS Test And Trace Service Will Launch Tomorrow Across England

The NHS Test and Trace service will launch tomorrow (Thursday) across England, the Government has announced.

PA

Anyone who tests positive for coronavirus will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace and will need to share information about their recent interactions. This could include household members and people with whom they have been in direct contact or within two metres of for more than 15 minutes.

People identified as having been in close contact with someone who has tested positive must stay at home for 14 days, even if they do not have symptoms, to stop unknowingly spreading the virus.

Members of their household will not have to stay at home unless the person identified becomes symptomatic, at which point they must also self-isolate for 14 days.

The service will be operated by 25,000 members of staff who, working alongside Public Health England, will have the capacity to trace the contacts of 10,000 people who test positive for coronavirus per day.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "As we move to the next stage of our fight against coronavirus, we will be able to replace national lockdowns with individual isolation and, if necessary, local action where there are outbreaks.

"NHS Test and Trace will be vital to stopping the spread of the virus. It is how we will be able to protect our friends and family from infection, and protect our NHS.

"This new system will help us keep this virus under control while carefully and safely lifting the lockdown nationally."

Dido Harding, Executive Chair of NHS Test and Trace, said: "NHS Test and Trace will not succeed on its own - we all need to play our part.

"This is why we are working hand-in-hand with communities and local authorities across the country to tailor support at a local level, and respond quickly to local needs. And we will be constantly developing and improving as we go.

"Together we can help contain the virus, stop it spreading further and ultimately save lives."

The latest data shows that as of 5pm yesterday (Tuesday), 37,460 people in the UK had died after testing positive for the disease, a daily increase of 412.

Topics: UK News, Coronavirus, NHS, Politics

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey