South Yorkshire leaders call for local control of Test and Trace as talks to move region into Tier 3 continue

Politicians say they will go "door to door" to fight coronavirus if necessary as they call for more support from the Government over potential tier 3 restrictions.
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In Sheffield, data shows that one in four people who have been in close contact with someone with the virus are not being reached and politicians have warned cases "will spiral out of control".

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Meanwhile, Sheffield Liberal Democrat Leader Coun Shaffaq Mohammed and Lord Paul Scriven have also signed an open letter from their party.

Alderson Road Walk-in COVID 19 test centre in SheffieldAlderson Road Walk-in COVID 19 test centre in Sheffield
Alderson Road Walk-in COVID 19 test centre in Sheffield

Both parties have called for a shake-up of the test and trace system.

Labour's letter says: "We need a cast-iron guarantee shortfalls will be underwritten to allow us to continue the fight against the virus, going door to door if necessary, and plan for the next financial year.

"We want to put our Directors of Public Health in the driving seat with Test and Trace, so we can manage outbreaks more effectively in our communities, ramp up house-to-house drop off and collection of testing kits, and plug the gaps in tracing contacts who have been missed by the national system.

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"Cases will spiral out of control if the Government’s test and trace system continues to fail to contact people who need to self-isolate.

"We also want to increase the eligibility criteria for the test and trace support payment for people who are unable to work because they are self-isolating, above the £500 threshold, so that more people are financially able to make the right choice to isolate if they test positive or come into contact with somebody that has."

The Lib Dems' letter calls for urgent funding. "The central test and trace system is an expensive failure. Local government has the capacity to help but not the funding.

"A rapid infusion of funding to enable local scale-up could be transformative for our fight against the virus, and justify the pain caused by a second lockdown.

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"There also needs to be support to enable people to self isolate, support is urgently needed for those who cannot work."

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