LGA responds to latest test and trace figures

"Councils know their communities best, with nearly 9 in 10 setting up contact tracing teams across the country to work with the national system and successfully find many hard-to-reach cases, while also helping to ensure as many people as possible can get vaccinated."


Responding to the publication of the latest NHS Test and Trace and coronavirus testing figures for the week ending 30 December 2020, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

“With daily infection rates and deaths from coronavirus at their highest ever level, we urgently need to be picking up as many contacts of people who test positive, as quickly as possible.

“Councils know their communities best, with nearly 9 in 10 setting up contact tracing teams across the country to work with the national system and successfully find many hard-to-reach cases, while also helping to ensure as many people as possible can get vaccinated.

“But they continue to need greater support with testing and tracing, including on communication, capacity and workforce, alongside better and faster information on who they should be trying to contact, if we are to finally get on top of this surge.”

Notes to editors

Local health protection teams reached 99.8 per cent of contacts of cases managed by them in the week to 30 December, while 92.3 per cent of close contacts of those managed online or by call centres were also reached and asked to self-isolate.