Coronavirus: Government finally reveals lockdown ‘exit strategy’ with plan to recruit 18,000 to trace infected people

Pledge comes five weeks after World Health Organisation urged nations to ‘test, test, test’ – a plea rejected by UK at the time

Ministers have finally revealed a long-demanded “exit strategy” from the coronavirus lockdown with a plan to recruit an army of 18,000 people to trace and isolate infected people – allowing restrictions to be eased, they hope.

Five weeks after the World Health Organisation urged all nations to “test, test, test” – a plea rejected by the UK at the time – it was announced that the mass contact tracing programme would begin “in a matter of weeks”.

For the first time, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, drew a direct connection between community testing and hopes that the shutdown of the economy and society can be softened in the months to come.

“Testing, tracking and tracing, done effectively, can help to suppress the transmission in a way that allows you to have lesser social distancing rules,” he told the Downing Street press conference.

The move was greeted with relief by Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary and a leading voice demanding mass testing in the community, rather than simply in hospitals and of NHS and care workers.

“I have been pressing for concrete action on contact tracing but today Matt Hancock has delivered,” he tweeted.

“With 18,000 people being recruited – alongside widespread testing – we have a clear exit route from the current lockdown and our approach comes much closer to global best practice.”

However, Mr Hancock – bruised by the likely failure to carry out 100,000 daily tests by his deadline of the end of April – was careful not to set a strict target for the new programme getting underway.

It was announced as:

* Essential workers, including supermarket workers, bus drivers and teachers, and their household members were told that, from tomorrow, they will be able book a test on the gov.uk website – potentially benefiting 10 million staff if the rest of the UK follows England.

* Continuing problems with the current testing programme were laid bare – with only 23,560 carried out on Wednesday, less than half the capacity of 51,000.

* London was described as “two or three weeks” ahead of other parts of the country – with Manchester and Liverpool now the focus of the pandemic, according to a Health Service Journal analysis.

* “New and better” blood tests were promised – not requiring the chemical reagents that have been in short supply.

Mr Hancock said the 18,000 track-and-tracers would include 3,000 clinicians and public health specialists, but declined to say they would be ready for the next review of the lockdown, due on 7 May.

He sought to deflect criticism of delay, arguing he had had to wait until the pandemic had peaked, saying: “Critically, test, track and trace works more effectively when the rate of new cases is lower.

“So, the lower the rate of new cases, the more effectively you can keep it down using test, track and trace rather than having to use heavier social-distancing measures.”

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow health secretary, criticised “confusion” at the heart of government, pointing out the deputy chief medical officer, Jenny Harries, had dismissed the idea only days ago.

And he said Mr Hancock had to be held to his original pledge, saying: “We were promised 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. Not testing capacity at 100,000.

“We’re still not carrying out the numbers of tests we need to. In particular we should be doing so much more to test care workers. They shouldn’t have to travel miles for a test.