At the end of July, when my friend was in hospital having a baby, she was tested forand it came back positive. So, in line with protocol for the government's Test and Trace system, she handed over the details of the people she had been in contact with. In her case, this was her husband and her eldest daughter – both of whom heard nothing from Test and Trace for seven days – yes, a full week. Luckily, she lives with them both, so they knew to quarantine.
Now for the testing element. There have been numerous reports of people being sent all over the country for Covid tests. Labour MPsaid today that residents in her North London constituency of Walthamstow are being sent over 200 miles away – when a local walk-in centre sits almost empty. Stella has had emails from constituents who have been told to go to Brighton, Coventry, Newport and Luton, when they could go up the road.
Here’s the thing: Boris Johnson promised us a ‘world beating’ test and trace system - the reality is we’ve been lumped with one which fails to contact people who could be contagious and sends people to test centres hundreds of miles away.