England’s mayors to gain more control over NHS Test and Trace
Mayors across England are set to gain more control over the NHS Test and Trace system as the government prepares to implement tougher Covid restrictions.
The government will give local authorities access to the Test and Trace data and urge them to deploy volunteers to knock on people’s homes and tell them to self-isolate if necessary.
The Sunday Times reports that the changes are intended to get more people to self-isolate after testing positive by generating “community spirit”.
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News today: “We are going to be making sure that the national testing infrastructure…works in harmony with what’s happening locally because local councils and local communities are very good at contact tracing, understandably because they know their communities, they can mobilise council officers particularly for harder to reach communities.
“We are going to be helping the local councils to complement the national tracing infrastructure and also to have a greater say in Track and Trace as well.”
Covid rates are particularly high in the North of England, with Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester and Bolton among the worst affected.
Birmingham and Leicester in the Midlands also have surging rates of Covid.
Boris Johnson is expected to announce a “three-tier” Covid rating next week, which will classify areas as “medium risk”, “high risk” and “very high risk”.
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The lowest tier will likely see the current national restrictions – bans of more than six people meeting and a 10pm curfew – while the high risk category could mean a ban on household mixing altogether.
Any areas that are in the very high risk category could be plunged back into lockdown, with hospitality venues almost certain to be closed.
Ministers are currently dealing with local authorities and the country’s metro mayors in creating the three-tier system and setting out the terms of the new NHS Test and Trace protocols.
Leader of Manchester City Council Sir Richard Leese told Times Radio this morning that he had not yet agreed with the government to any new Covid restrictions.
“I think there is probably a large gulf at the moment between us and the government,” he said.
“Our officers are working, meeting actually, as we speak and are developing a set of proposals that we think are appropriate for Greater Manchester on the basis of that knowledge and data that we’ve got.”
When asked if he would support Manchester being put into the tier three category, he said: “Absolutely not. It wouldn’t do anything to tackle covid-19 as far as I can see and it would be absolutely disastrous for our economy.”