Coronavirus test and trace stats show 167% rise in positive cases

Lighthouse laboratories see slump in performance as positive cases surge

A medical worker takes a nose swab samples at a test station for Covid-19 coronavirus in Montpellier, France (EPA)

More than 18,300 people tested positive for coronavirus in the latest weekly data from the government’s test and trace service, an increase of 167 per cent compared to the end of August.

According to the data there was also a 27 per cent increase in the number of people getting tested in the week to 9 September with 571,400 people overall getting a test.

Almost nine out of 10 pillar one, or NHS lab, test results were made available within 24 hours but the centralised Lighthouse Labs saw a significant slump in performance with only 33 per cent of tests being turned around within 24 hours compared to 66.5 per cent in the previous week.

The huge spike in demand has been blamed as one reason why there is a shortage of tests with patients being offered slots hundreds of miles from where they live, or unable to get any test at all.

Testing capacity increased by two per cent across the main pillar one and two labs in the latest week with a total of 1.6m tests available. In the Lighthouse Labs specifically capacity increased four per cent compared to the previous week.

The number of positive cases in the latest week was 75 per cent compared to the previous seven days in line with a sharp increase seen in recent weeks as the virus continues to spread in the community.  

Between the end of August and the beginning of September there was an increase of 52 per cent in positive cases.

Confirmed infections have been rising since the start of July and are now double the number recorded when the test and trace service was launched in May.

Overall, 15,526 people were passed to the contract tracing system in the latest week, a 74 per cent increase on the previous week. The numbers of people now being pursued by tracers as tripled in the latest week compared to the start of August.

A total of 82 per cent of people were reached by tracers and asked to provide details for people they had been in close contact with.

A total of 61,790 people were identified as close contacts of someone who was positive for Covid-19. This has jumped 255 per cent since the beginning of August. In total 73 per cent of close contacts were reached.

The Department of Health and Social Care has announced two new Lighthouse Labs for coronavirus testing will be set up in Newcastle and Bracknell to help boost centralised testing capacity.

The prime minister Boris Johnson has said he wants to see the ability to carry out 500,000 tests a day by the end of next month.

Two other labs are being opened in Newport and Charnwood, joining existing labs in Milton Keynes, Manchester and Glasgow.

The DHSC said the Newcastle lab will be able to deliver 80,000 tests a day by the end of March, with the Bracknell site handling 40,000 tests a day by February.

Interim executive chair of the newly created National Institute for Health Protection Baroness Dido Harding said: “We are working tirelessly to boost testing capacity so that everyone who needs a test can get one. Each day, around 200,000 people are successfully booking and taking tests and we are growing our capacity to 500,000 tests across the UK by the end of October, with more and more capacity being added each week.  

“I cannot stress enough how important it is that only those with symptoms book tests. The service is there for those experiencing a high temperature, new continuous cough or loss or change in sense of taste or smell.

“If you don’t have symptoms but think, or have been told by NHS Test and Trace that you have been in contact with someone with the virus, please stay at home but do not book a test.

“We need everyone to help make sure that tests are there for people with symptoms who need them.”