- Over 90% of tests carried out at a testing site are
returned the day after the test took place
- Majority of contacts are being successfully reached by
NHS Test and Trace and asked to self-isolate within 24 hours
of being identified as a close contact
Statistics covering
the seventh week of operation (9 to 15 July) of the NHS Test
and Trace service have been published today (Thursday 23
July), showing just under 200,000 people have been
reached by the service and asked to self-isolate, and over
2.3 million new people have been tested for the virus.
In the past week, 91.5% of tests carried out at a testing
site were returned the day after the test was taken, and
what’s more, 77% of those testing positive were reached by
NHS Test and Trace to identify their contacts in less than 24
hours.
Executive Chair of NHS Test and Trace, Dido Harding, said:
In just 7 weeks we have tested over 2.3 million new people
for coronavirus, identified nearly 39,000 with the virus
and reached almost 200,000 people to stop the virus from
spreading further. This week’s statistics show we are
making really good progress with more people responding to
the service.
NHS Test and Trace relies on everyone playing their part.
We all need to get a test if we have symptoms, share
details of our contacts if we test positive and
self-isolate when asked to do so.
I want to thank each and every person for their individual
efforts at keeping their friends, family and community
safe. We know this isn’t easy and it is thanks to your hard
work that we are able to stop the virus, prevent outbreaks
and gradually get back to our normal lives.
Statistics released for the first time today show that 87.4%
of tests in hospital settings are returned within 24 hours.
The testing programme has been stood up at pace with current
capacity for over 330,000 tests a day, which will grow to
500,000 a day by the end of October. Anyone in England of any
age experiencing symptoms – a temperature, a new continuous
cough or cold, or a loss or change to sense of smell or taste
– can get a test. It is the largest network of diagnostic
testing facilities created in British history.
As part of the drive to towards the target of a 500,000-a-day
UK testing capacity by the end of October, a new Lighthouse
laboratory will open in Newport, which is expected to start
operations at the end of August, and work is ongoing on plans
to expand the UK’s laboratory capacity even further over the
coming months.
We continue to develop the system and we are currently
working towards creating a dedicated team of contact tracers
who will focus specifically on specific local areas of
concern. They will work in partnership with local areas to
quickly develop extra processes that are tailored to the
needs of those communities. This includes dedicated call
handlers, scripts tailored to the local outbreak context and
lockdown measures, and specific reporting to provide a
national and local comparison.
Overall the data from the seventh week of operation (9 to 15
July) of NHS Test and Trace shows that:
Between 9 and 15 July 2020:
- 355,597 people were newly tested for coronavirus
(COVID-19) under pillar 1 (testing in hospitals and outbreak
locations) and pillar 2 (national swab testing) in England
- nearly half of people tested under pillar 2 received the
result within 24 hours of taking a test. This increases to 7
out of 10 for tests that were carried out in person
- 3,953 new people tested positive for coronavirus
(COVID-19)
- 3,887 people had their case transferred to the contact
tracing system of whom 3,098 people (79.7%) were reached and
asked to provide details of close contacts
- most people reached by NHS Test and Trace provided
details for one or more contacts and this has increased from
77.5% to 79.9% since last week
- 16,742 people were identified as coming into close
contact with someone who has tested positive and been
transferred to contact tracing. Of these, 13,034 people
(77.9%) were reached and asked to self-isolate, an increase
from 72.0% the previous week
- of those contacts reached, 83.6% were reached within 24
hours of being identified as a close contact. 55.9% were
contacted within 24 hours of the person who tested positive
being transferred to contact tracing
- new information published this week shows 69.0% of close
contacts reported to NHS Test and Trace are within the same
household as the person who has tested positive for
coronavirus
- new data shows that over half of contacts identified by
people who have tested positive for coronavirus are reached
and asked to self-isolate within 24 hours of receiving
notification of the positive test result
In total, since 28 May 2020:
- 2,320,229 people were newly tested under pillars 1 and 2
- 38,772 new people have tested positive for coronavirus
(COVID-19)
- In total, the number of people reached, including both
positive cases and their close contacts, is 199,508
- 38,877 people had their case transferred to the contact
tracing system, of whom 29,962 (77.1%) were reached and asked
to provide details of their recent close contacts
- 202,781 people were identified as coming into close
contact with someone who has tested positive. Of these,
169,546 (83.6%) were reached and asked to self-isolate
- The approach to the publication of NHS Test and Trace
data is supported by the Office for National Statistics and
UK Statistics Authority who are working closely with NHS Test
and Trace on the development of this weekly release and the
wider granular approach to data in the programme.
- This is the seventh set of data on NHS Test and Trace to
be published. Over the coming weeks, this data will be
integrated with those from other parts of NHS Test and Trace
to provide an end-to-end view of the service that follows the
journey taken by people accessing NHS Test and Trace. This
includes both the numbers of people engaged and the speed of
the journey through the service, including data on test
turnaround times.
- Please note that previous figures released on NHS Test
and Trace have been revised. The figures presented are based
on a data cut a number of days after the end of the reporting
period, to give time for cases reported at the end of the
7-day period to have an outcome. Some cases may continue to
be in progress after this period, and therefore data may need
to be revised over time.
