⁍ Just 59.6% of contacts of positive COVID-19 cases were reached between Oct. 8 and Oct. 14.

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⁍ turnaround times for people receiving their results also getting slower.

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⁍ British government scientists have warned that the test and trace scheme is relatively ineffective.

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– British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is calling for improvements to the country’s testing and tracing system for coronavirus after a record low number of people were identified as having the disease last week, Reuters reports. “I share people’s frustrations and I understand totally why we do need to see faster turnaround times and we do need to improve it,” Johnson said at a news conference. According to Reuters, the test and trace system was supposed to reach 80% of contacts of positive COVID-19 cases between Oct. 8 and Oct. 14. Just 59.6% of those contacts were identified between Oct. 8 and Oct. 14. “It’s undoubtedly the case that test, trace, and isolation becomes much more difficult to have an impact once numbers are high,” the UK’s chief scientific adviser says. “So, it’s much more effective when numbers are low.” The number of people identified as having COVID-19 last week was 251,613, up 15% from the previous week. British government scientists have warned that the test and trace system is relatively ineffective as the coronavirus spreads ever more quickly. British government scientists have warned that the test and trace system is relatively ineffective as the coronavirus spreads ever more quickly. Recent weeks have however seen increases in the number of contacts of positive COVID-19 cases identified, with 251,613 identified in the latest week. “It’s undoubtedly the case that test, trace, and isolation becomes much more difficult to have an impact once numbers are high,” the chief scientific adviser says.