Coronavirus: England ‘moving in wrong direction’ as weekly cases reach highest number since end of May

Latest data shows 6 per cent increase in positive cases on previous week

The number of weekly positive Covid-19 cases in England has risen to its highest figure since the end of May, new government figures show, as health leaders warn that the country is moving in the “wrong direction” ahead of the winter period.

A total of 6,732 new people tested positive for the virus between 20 and 26 August, according to the latest test and trace figures. This is a 6 per cent increase in positive cases on the previous week, and is the highest weekly number since the week to 3 June.

The previous week’s figures had shown the first decline in weekly Covid-19 cases since July.

NHS Providers, which represents all NHS trusts, said the turnaround times for swab testing within the community still remained too slow and warned that “infrastructure problems” were delaying the transfer of positive cases to the national tracing system.

“It is deeply worrying to see more people test positive for Covid-19 this week, with the number of positive cases in England now the highest since May,” said Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers.

“We are also continuing to see a mixed picture within the system. Of those cases that were transferred, a higher proportion of positive cases were reached, and a higher number of close contacts were identified, but a lower proportion of the close contacts were reached.

“The turnaround times for swab testing within the community also remain below what we would like to see, despite small improvements this week. It is vital improvements are made quickly as we move towards the winter months.”

The new figures showed that 31,388 people were identified as coming into close contact with someone who tested positive between 20 and 26 August. Of these, 69.4 per cent were reached and asked to self-isolate.

This is down from 77.1 per cent in the previous week, and is the lowest weekly percentage since NHS Test and Trace was launched in May.

It means that test and trace has missed its target of reaching 80 per cent of close contacts for the 10th week in a row.

On the basis of these latest figures, the number of recent close contacts identified has decreased by 43 per cent since the start of contact tracing, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

The number of people newly tested for the coronavirus between 20 and 26 August also decreased by 1 per cent from the previous week – though the national testing capacity was up by nearly a fifth.

Median turnaround times for community swab testing decreased over the same time period. Regional test sites fell from 27 hours to 24 hours and mobile testing units dropped from 25 hours to 22 hours. However, home and satellite testing turnarounds increased by 11 and 10 hours respectively.

James Naismith, a professor of structural biology at the University of Oxford, said the latest weekly case figures suggested England was moving in the “wrong direction”.

“The number of people with positive tests has increased and at the same time the number of people tested has decreased,” he said. “The UK still has an excellent ratio of people tested to positive cases, there is no reason to be alarmed at the slight decline but this is a move in the wrong direction.

“Overall testing capacity has increased which is welcome. The test-and-trace system overall however appears to be showing some strain, with decreases in positive cases being traced and reduction in the contacts reached.

“Without effective isolation, test and trace will merely serve to better inform of us of a potential unfolding tragedy. There needs to be some imaginative solutions to help people isolate, especially the young and otherwise healthy and those in multi-person households.”

Health secretary Matt Hancock insisted that the regime is working “well” as he announced a £500m funding package aimed at supporting trials of a new 20-minute Covid-19 test.

“At the moment the system works well,” he told Sky News on Thursday. “Of course there are operational challenges from time to time but it works well.

“And we’re finding a higher and higher proportion of people in the country who have coronavirus and getting them tests so they can be looked after.

“But absolutely we need to roll out more testing – we have done throughout this crisis and today’s another step in solving some of those problems with the existing technology.”

The government’s new community-wide repeat population testing initiative is set to be launched in Salford, Greater Manchester, while existing trials in Southampton and Hampshire, which use a no-swab saliva test and a rapid 20-minute test, will also be expanded through the £500m funding.

Mr Hancock also bowed to pressure to cut the vast travel distances that some people are being forced to travel for a Covid-19 test, though it is expected some will still have to face round trips of up to 150 miles.

Residents in London have been told to travel to Wales for their tests, those in Cumbria to head to Scotland and people in Devon that they must drive to west Wales.

A Conservative MP in Hampshire, Caroline Nokes, revealed the government’s testing website had told her daughter to travel to Inverness – a distance of almost 600 miles.

However, a Department of Health and Social Care source has told The Independent that a 75-mile one-way limit will now be introduced on the advice given.

The move comes despite Mr Hancock dismissing the criticism at the start of the day, saying inevitable “operational challenges” were to be expected in any system.

Since the launch of NHS Test and Trace, 270,559 close contacts of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 have now been reached through the tracing system and asked to self-isolate.

This is 79.7 per cent out of a total of 339,635 people identified as close contacts. The remaining 69,076 people (20.3 per cent) were were not reached.

A total of 73,081 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in England have had their cases passed to test and trace since it was first established in late May.