Just explained @BBCEngland that test and trace has picked up 10K new cases in last 2 weeks which is minority of new cases as reported by @ONS. National tracers have reached 10,000 out of 87,000 reported contacts thru 25,000 staff
Remaining 77,000 contacts (complex cases) have been reached by @PHE_uk and council led local health protection teams who have been brought into test and trace late in the day
Balance of work to date raises question of whether 25,000 staff are needed at national level and why govt has preferred outsourcing to private companies instead of building from public sector expertise
here's another example of English exceptionalism and failure to learn from countries like Germany where regional and local contact tracers working in public sector have been effective
the lockdown should not be eased further until we are confident that a fully functioning test and trace system is in place - and we're not there yet while local outbreak plans are being written and data sharing arrangements have to be resolved
Complex English design means we need absolute clarity on who is responsible for what: the national phone based teams, @PHE_uk and councils and health protection teams - otherwise there is scope for confusion
U turn on the app is another sorry episode but actually contact tracing is about person to person communication to give reassurance and support by people who are skilled in this work
why does this matter? Because test, trace and isolate is our collective insurance against resurgence of C-19. If we get it right we can focus on controlling local outbreaks instead of a national lockdown. If we get it wrong, more lives will be lost
the govt will not be judged kindly for its mishandling of test and trace and late recognition of the role of councils, DsPH and others. Lessons must be learned and acted on ahead of the winter
