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Weekly Test and Trace statistics show the service has now reached more than 218,000 people who are testing positive, identifying and informing their contacts to break the chain of transmission
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NHS Test and Trace today launches new public health campaign to encourage more people to get a test
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New business plan sets out major expansion of the service over the next 6 months, including doubling testing capacity to 500,000 tests a day ahead of winter
NHS Test and Trace will today launch a new campaign to encourage everyone to get a free test as soon as they get symptoms, alongside a new business plan to expand testing capacity and prepare the nation for winter.
It comes as weekly statistics show NHS Test and Trace continues to break the chain of transmission across England, with more than 218,000 people now contacted who have tested positive for the virus, or recently been in contact with someone who has.
The new public health campaign across England will help build public understanding about the integral role NHS Test and Trace plays ‒ including encouraging people to get a free test as soon as they develop symptoms and making them aware of the need to respond to the service if contacted.
Restaurants, pubs, salons and gyms are among the businesses who are being supported by NHS Test and Trace to log their customers to prevent transmission and help contain the virus.
The campaign is underpinned by a new business plan for NHS Test and Trace which outlines how the service will expand ahead of the winter. The number of tests given to people without symptoms will increase to 150,000 per day by September, with testing capacity to double to 500,000 with more than 500 testing sites by October.
Chief Executive Chair of NHS Test and Trace, Dido Harding, said:
The NHS Test and Trace service is a vital part of enabling us to get back to safely doing the normal things we love, and will become ever more important as we approach winter.
By working in partnership with local public health and local authority teams we are already helping stop the spread of coronavirus across England, by reaching over 200,000 people who may have been at risk of passing it on.
I urge everybody to get a free test as soon as you experience coronavirus symptoms and to follow the advice you're given if you are contacted by the service. If we all continue to play our part, then together we can stop the spread of this virus.
Data from the 8th week of operation (16 to 22 July) of NHS Test and Trace shows that:
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81.4% (3,455) of the people who had tested positive for coronavirus and were transferred to NHS Test and Trace were reached by
