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Contact tracing delays affected eight local authorities in England in April and May
In parts of England, delays in tracing those who had contact with people who tested positive for the coronavirus may have contributed to the spread of the B.1.617.2 variant of the virus, according to local public health reports.
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The reports, seen by the BBC, suggest that failures in England’s NHS Test and Trace system in April and May affected eight local authorities in England, including Blackburn with Darwen, which has seen a recent surge in cases linked to the variant. The BBC reported that, although it is thought that people tested for the virus received their results, local authority staff weren’t provided with contact-tracing information through the central system. Other areas affected by this were Blackpool, York, Bath, North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.
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