Nearly two in five close contacts still not being reached by Test and Trace regime in Bedford

Nearly two in five close contacts of people with coronavirus are still not being reached by the Test and Trace system in Bedford, figures suggest.

Data from the Department for Health and Social care shows 2,662 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Bedford were transferred to the Test and Trace service between May 28 and December 2.

That means 205 new cases were transferred in the latest seven-day period.

Contact tracers ask new patients to give details for anyone they were in close contact with in the 48 hours before their symptoms started.

This led to 5,466 close contacts being identified over the period – those not managed by local health protection teams, which are dealt with through a call centre or online.

But just 62.3 per cent of those were reached, meaning 2,059 people were not contacted or did not respond.

That was up from the 61 per cent reached in the period to November 25

Across England, 84.7 per cent of contacts not managed by local health protection teams were reached and told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace in the latest week to December 2.

Local health protection teams deal with cases linked to settings such as hospitals, schools and prisons.

The contact tracing rate including these cases was 85.7 per cent, up from 72.6 per cent the week before.

Around 92,000 new cases were transferred nationally in the week to December 2.