Coronavirus: Half of contacts not being reached in St Helens

Leaked analysis seen by The Independent – which has been verified by St Helens’ director of public health – shows the national Test and Trace service is reaching only 52 per cent of all close contacts across North West England.

The data also shows that less than half of close contacts are being reached in St Helens, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale and Blackburn with Darwen, where health chiefs are fighting a major outbreak.

READ > Tributes paid to former council officer and 'absolute gentlemen' Paul Sanderson

The figures were revealed by Prof Dominic Harrison, public health director of Blackburn with Darwen Council,

Following the worrying reveal, public health chiefs in St Helens have also spoken out.

“We have deep concerns regarding the continuing problems with the national system,” said Cllr Anthony Burns, St Helens Borough Council’s cabinet member for public health, leisure, libraries, arts and heritage.

“The system should now be in place to help assist the council to respond as quickly as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within our communities.

“However, this national system is failing.”

According to the government’s most recent statistics, 2,815 people (78.7 per cent) of those who tested positive for coronavirus were reached by contact tracers between July 2 to 8, and were asked to provide details of recent close contacts.

Of those, 71.1 per cent were reached and asked to self-isolate.

The government’s test and trace service – which was promised to be ‘world beating’ by Prime Minister Boris Johnson – has been riddled with problems since it launched at the end of May.

The service launched amid the Dominic Cummings Barnard Castle lockdown furore, with detractors saying the government was trying to divert attention away from the PM’s top aide.

When it launched it did so without a functioning app, which was seen as a vital part of the operation, with an army of manual tracers leading the charge.

But news soon broke claiming contract tracers – earning £27 per hour – sitting around for days with nothing to do.

Then last month the government announced it was abandoning the centralised app and would start on a new hybrid model based on Google and Apple’s technology.

And on Monday, privacy campaigners accused the government of breaking a key data protection law.

In a letter to The Open Rights Group (ORG), the government said it did not conduct a data privacy impact assessment (DPIA), which is a requirement under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for projects that process personal data.

The government said there is no evidence of data being used unlawfully.

The DHSC says the NHS Test and Trace service has already helped test and isolate more than 180,000 cases.

A DHSC spokesman said the service is working closely with local authorities across England to help manage local outbreaks, and said data is shared daily.

Cllr Anthony Burns, St Helens Borough Council’s cabinet member for public health, leisure, libraries, arts and heritage

Cllr Burns said: “Our council staff and the whole community effort has been terrific supporting #StHelensTogether in our response to the crisis however to enable us to continue to support one another we need to receive timely information and support through the systems set up to help us.”

“The government has stated that an effective test and trace system is important for the country’s recovery from COVID-19.

“It is time for these words to be backed up with action. We urgently need the systems to work.”

Sue Forster is the director of Public Health for St Helens Borough Council and is the leading the local response to COVID-19.

She said the issue of close contacts not being reached in St Helens has already been raised nationally and locally through the council-led outbreak management board.

According to Public Health England (PHE) surveillance data, the weekly infection rate in St Helens has fallen to from 1.7 per 100,000 people, which is among the lowest in the country.

Knowsley’s weekly infection rate has also fallen for the second week running following a worrying spike that saw it rise to 20.1 cases per 100,000 people.

According to the latest PHE data, Knowsley’s weekly infection rate has fallen to 3.34, down from 11.4 the previous week.

On Monday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said local public health directors will begin to receive ‘enhanced’ data – including the name and address of those who’ve tested positive.

Previously, the government had only been providing information based on postcode level testing, with Mr Hancock telling MPs last week that patient-identifiable data was being provided to councils.

The U-turn comes after weeks of campaigning from mayors and council officials across the country, including Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram.

Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has been lobbying the government throughout the coronavirus crisis

Public health chiefs in St Helens hope this data will now shed some light on why the Test and Trace service is failing to track down so many contacts.

Ms Forster said: “We are hoping to get better data flows from the national system and will be working locally to understand more about why the percentage that have completed contacts is so low for [the] St Helens borough.”

A DHSC spokesman said: “NHS Test and Trace has already helped test and isolate more than 180,000 cases – helping us control the spread of the virus, prevent a second wave and save lives.

READ > No coronavirus patients in ICU – but doctors warn second wave is 'highly likely'

“The service is working closely with local authorities across England to help manage local outbreaks and data is shared daily.

“We urge anyone with symptoms to get tested for coronavirus as quickly as possible, self-isolate, and you should not leave home unless it is to get tested.

“The service relies on everyone playing their part – please book a test if you have symptoms, self-isolate and help us trace anyone you’ve been in contact with.”