.css-14iz86j-BoldText{font-weight:bold;}People who have had close contact with someone found to have Covid-19 are being traced and asked to self-isolate for a fortnight.
In England, the emphasis is on local public health teams contacting those who may be infected, although a second attempt at a tracing app is currently being piloted.
But what happens if a neighbour or someone who went to the same pub or restaurant as you tests positive?
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There you must give personal information, including:
Contact tracers are now being redeployed to work alongside local public health teams.
If you can’t be reached through calls and texts, tracers may knock on your door. If you live in an area experiencing a coronavirus outbreak, they may also visit you to inform you of local testing facilities.
If you are approached because one of your contacts has tested positive, you must stay at home for 14 days from your last point of contact with them.
You must self-isolate, even if you don’t have symptoms, to prevent the virus spreading.
Others in your household won’t have to self-isolate unless they also develop symptoms, but must take extra care around you regarding social distancing and handwashing.
Giving personal information is voluntary and it is not the venue’s responsibility to ensure it’s correct.
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An NHS Test and Trace call does not always mean a pub or restaurant must close. It depends on the circumstances and when the infected person visited.
How is the tracing scheme going?
The prime minister claimed the UK’s test and trace system would be “world-beating.” But it has encountered several problems since its launch in May.
While the public health teams dealing with local outbreaks have consistently reached more than 90% of contacts, the national call centre’s success rate peaked at just over 70% in July.
The scheme has faced other criticisms too. A mobile tracing app was supposed to be a key component of the UK’s test and trace system. It was abandoned in mid-June, but residents in the Isle of Wight, the London Borough of Newham and NHS volunteer responders are trialling a second attempt based on Apple and Google technology.
Privacy campaigners say England’s tracing scheme has broken a key data protection law, although the government says there was no evidence of data being used unlawfully.
What about other parts of the UK?
Northern Ireland was the first part of the UK to roll out a smartphone contact-tracing app.
Self-employed people who are self-isolating but can’t work from home can apply for an income support scheme grant, the government says, although this is designed to cover three months’ worth of profits.
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