The much touted test and trace’ system which was supposed to bring UK back on its feet was found struggling to stand with the contact tracers unable to log into the system.
The National Health Services (NHS) put up the site on Thursday morning and around 25,000 were supposed to ask those who had tested positive for the coronavirus about their contacts. The plan was to put all those, who have been in contact with infected person, in isolation even if they were not unwell.
But before it could become operational, some of the workers who were trying to log in, could not get through with some suggesting it to be a complete failure.
Later, the head of plan acknowledged that the scheme was not fully functional and won’t be completely workable before June end.
Earlier, during the launch, UK government had said that the new service will help in containing the spread of coronavirus which has claimed around 40,000 lives in UK.
The new system would have enabled the NHS and other services to share the information about any individual tasting Covid-19 positive. It was to include the family as well as those who have been within two meters distance of the infected person.
After the tracing of individuals, the protocol was that they will be made to stay home for 14 days, whether they have any symptoms or in order to contain the spread the pandemic.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, “As we move to the next stage of our fight against coronavirus, we will be able to replace national lockdowns with individual isolation and, if necessary, local action where there are outbreaks.”
Hancock said that NHS ‘Test and Trace’ will be key in stopping the spread of the virus. This will help in protecting our family, friends and ultimately help our overburdened NHS. He said that the system will keep the virus under control while we go about rebooting our system again.
At next stage of the system, if anyone among those in isolation develops symptoms, they are free to book for a test with the NHS. If the test comes out positive, the said person must stay at home for a minimum of seven days or until their symptoms have passed. And even if they test negative for virus, they will have to complete a 14-day isolation period.
Members of their household will not have to stay at home unless the person identified becomes symptomatic, at which point they must also self-isolate for 14 days to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus.
