Test and trace system not working fast enough to control virus, Sheffield's director of public health says

Greg Fell, director of public health for Sheffield, said the system did work but that it needed to be much faster.

And he said his team was continuing to work with the Government to improve the system, but that this needed to be a two-way process.

He said: "Test and trace is good. It is there and it works but it doesn't work well enough or fast enough.

“It needs to be done quickly to have maximum impact and get to the communities that we all find hard to reach, particularly where English is a second language.

“The number of cases who are found and told to isolate within 48 hrs is 73 per cent but it is considerably less than that in some of Sheffield's neighbourhoods. It could and should be a lot better.”

Mr Fell said one of the main problems was that it was being run from a centralised call centre miles away from Sheffield, and restated his offer to the Government to help improve the system with local ‘boots on the ground’.

He said: “We know the streets that we need to be worried about and we have stood that up. It needs to be resourced properly.

"We continue to work with the government to get as good as track and trace as we can but the government needs to work with local track and tracing team to improve the system.”

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