Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Academics and experts have consistently noted that the effectiveness of test and trace systems rests...
Conclusion
Academics and experts have consistently noted that the effectiveness of test and trace systems rests on adherence to their requirements and high levels of compliance by members of the public, but these are still low for NHST&T. Of those people experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, only 18% to 33% get a test and only 43% fully comply with requirements to self-isolate, though the figure is higher for those who have received a positive test result, at 82–86%. Around 16% of people testing positive, and around 20% of their contacts, do not fully meet isolation requirements. NHST&T is responsible for improving public compliance but currently has no target relating to compliance with self-isolation.20
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
1.2 The government does not accept the Committee’s conclusion that NHS Test and Trace had not helped to break chains of transmission nor enabled people to return to a more normal way of life. In September 2021, the government published the Canna Model which estimates that, since August 2020, the transmission reduction from test, trace and self-isolation varied over time from 10% to 28%. In its COVID-19 Response: Summer 2021, the government set out how continued take-up and compliance with the test, trace and isolate system would be essential to supporting the country in living with the virus through autumn and winter, and in its COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021 confirmed that the test, trace and isolate system is reducing the number of positive cases mixing in the community.