The Government will end the requirement for fully vaccinated Brits to quarantine after coming into contact with a person who has tested positive for Covid within weeks, despite concerns that some could "game" the system.
Robert Dingwall, the most sensible member of SAGE, gave a belter of an interview on the World at One earlier, which a kind reader has transcribed for Lockdown Sceptics.
The Government has awarded Serco and Mitie new testing contracts – worth up to £687 million collectively – to support the Test and Trace system. The contracts could run for up to 18 months.
The gap between vaccinated and unvaccinated Brits is set to grow under new plans to exempt people who have received both doses from having to quarantine after coming into contact with Covid carriers.
The Test and Trace app – which has cost the taxpayer at least £35 million – is contacting fewer than half of its users who need to self-isolate, according to the Office for National Statistics.
A software update to the NHS Test and Trace app – which was scheduled to coincide with the partial reopening of pubs – has been blocked by Apple and Google because it breaks rules about the collection of location data.
Offering free rapid tests to the entire population is a waste of money. It would make more sense to target resources at vulnerable people who have not yet had the virus or been vaccinated.
A reader writes to tell us about an unfortunate experience she had with NHS Test and Trace when her deceased husband tested positive for Covid.
In yet another blow to the hospitality industry, the Government has announced that all customers at pubs, restaurants and cafes must provide contact details (either written or via the NHS Test and Trace app) on entry.
The Prime Minister hoped that it would be "world-beating," but it turns out that England's test and trace system has met none of its key targets despite its £22 billion price tag, according to a new report.
