Following the increased local lockdown implemented in Calderdale from Thursday 30 July, Calderdale Council is setting up its own track & trace system.
The BBC reports today, Friday 7 August, that Calderdale Council acted after the area saw a large increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the last week, with the R-infection number going above one.
The national track & trace system has been in place since June but since it launched the latest data from the Department of Health indicates that one in five people who have tested positive, and had their details passed to NHS Test and Trace system, have not been reached.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that the Local Government Association is concerned that the service is failing because people are reluctant to answer the phone to 0300 numbers owing to bad experiences with cold callers.
Call centre staff enlisted by the Government to track down people who have come into contact with positive Covid-19 cases use the “unrecognisable” 0300 number which is deterring some people from answering the phone.
Council leader Tim Swift said contact tracers would speak to people in person rather than just over the telephone.
How the national test & trace system works.