Test, Trace, Protect

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A short advisory video from the Welsh Government on the 'Test, Trace, Protect' service

Test, Trace, Protect is a government-funded service in Wales, first published on 13 May 2020 by the Welsh Government to track and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Its aim is to "enhance health surveillance in the community, undertake effective and extensive contact tracing, and support people to self-isolate". [1] [2]

Contents

The service was published on 13 May 2020, two weeks before the 'Test and Trace' scheme in England. It is the responsibility of the Health and Social Services Minister in the Welsh Government, Eluned Morgan; though the scheme was launched by the previous Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, on 1 June 2020.

It is delivered by a number of partners working together to contain the spread of the virus: Public Health Wales, Welsh local health boards, Welsh local authorities, the NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS) and others.

The service provides temporary sites where samples are taken from individuals, processes the samples at a newly created network of laboratories throughout Wales and further afield, and communicates the results.

Pre-May 2020 testing in Wales

On 28 March 2020 the BBC reported that a major COVID-19 test deal for Wales had apparently collapsed. [3] By June, after a Freedom of Information Request (FoIR), the Welsh Government announced that they refused to publish correspondence as to why the deal with pharmaceutical Roche had collapsed. Whitehall sources blamed Roche, which "appeared to want to prioritise the bigger of two orders - one NHS in England, the other by the Welsh Government - leading Roche to cancel the 5,000 daily tests to Wales. [4]

However, after a second FoIR by Channel 4 News the relevant emails were published, whereby Tracey Cooper, CEO of Public Health Wales, said that there was a deal in place with Swiss firm Roche to provide 5,000 extra tests a day, but that it was sunk due to pressure from the UK Government. She said that the finger of blame points directly at the UK Government, “as they clearly prioritised the use of a company’s testing for the purposes of England’s allocation”. Subsequently, the daily tests received in Wales, as part of a UK-wide rollout, was less than 500. [5] [6] On the day the disclosure was made public, Adam Price, leader of Plaid Cymru said that, "This is nothing short of a national scandal that shows the extent to which Westminster treats Wales with contempt. We urgently need answers as to why the Labour Welsh government chose to stay silent instead of speaking out against the harmful actions of the Tory UK government." A Department of Health England spokesperson refuted the accusation. [6]

Testing

Testing involves people who have symptoms, while they self-isolate and request a test. If the person has one coronavirus symptom e.g. a new continuous cough, high temperature or loss or change in smell or taste then that person will need to take a test within 5-days. [7] This can be done in a number of ways including:

The testing can be done in one of four ways and is available for all adults and children. The test involves taking a swab of the inside of the nose and from the back of the throat, using a long cotton bud.[ citation needed ]

One of the Lighthouse Labs testing facilities is Newport – PerkinElmer, and supported by the Welsh Government. [8] An overall continuum of the three main elements of the service is the NHS COVID-19 app for Wales, which is slightly different from the one for England and is administered by Public Health Wales. [9]

Self testing

In March 2021, the Welsh Government published a series of videos on self-testing:

Tracing

This part of the service involves tracing people who have been in contact with an infected person, asking them to then self-isolate for 14 days. An infected person is required to share details of people who have been in close contact with up to 2 days before other symptoms started, including:[ citation needed ]

Protecting

The final part is about protecting the community, especially key workers, older people and the most vulnerable. This service includes providing guidance, particularly if the person who has symptoms or their contacts are in the shielding group or the at-risk group, as well as advice. [11] The infected person is then passed on to the local authority and may be eligible for a £500 payment as a result of loss of earnings.[ citation needed ]

Other countries in the United Kingdom

Similar programmes were put in place in the other countries of the UK. Northern Ireland became the first constituent country to reintroduce contact tracing when, on 23 April 2020, its Chief Medical Officer, Michael McBride, announced that a scheme was "active". [12] Following a pilot, the system became fully operational in Northern Ireland on Monday 18 May. [13] Northern Ireland was the first part of the UK to launch a contact-tracing app, which was launched on 30 July. [14] The app runs on both IOS and Android operating systems, but the developer said that it would not work on iPhone 6 or older Apple devices. [15]

Plans for Test & Protect, a contact tracing service in Scotland, were published by the Scottish Government on 26 May 2020, [16] and it was launched on 28 May, shortly after NHS Test and Trace went live; a companion app 'Protect Scotland' was launched to the public on 10 September. [17] [18]

The service in England is called NHS Test and Trace and started two weeks after the service in Wales. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Contact tracing</span> Finding and identifying people in contact with someone with an infectious disease

In public health, contact tracing is the process of identifying persons who may have been exposed to an infected person ("contacts") and subsequent collection of further data to assess transmission. By tracing the contacts of infected individuals, testing them for infection, and isolating or treating the infected, this public health tool aims to reduce infections in the population. In addition to infection control, contact tracing serves as a means to identify high-risk and medically vulnerable populations who might be exposed to infection and facilitate appropriate medical care. In doing so, public health officials utilize contact tracing to conduct disease surveillance and prevent outbreaks. In cases of diseases of uncertain infectious potential, contact tracing is also sometimes performed to learn about disease characteristics, including infectiousness. Contact tracing is not always the most efficient method of addressing infectious disease. In areas of high disease prevalence, screening or focused testing may be more cost-effective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom</span> Ongoing viral pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in 24,779,150 confirmed cases, and is associated with 230,383 deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in Scotland

The COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland is part of the COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Scotland on 1 March 2020. Community transmission was first reported on 11 March 2020, and the first confirmed death was on 13 March 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Rescript</span> British military operation to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic

Operation Rescript was the code name for the British military operation to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies between 2020 and 2022. It was described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime" by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), involving up to 23,000 personnel within a specialist task force, named the COVID Support Force (CSF). The support was given at the request of the UK government, its devolved administrations and civil authorities through the Military aid to the civil authorities (MACA) mechanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in Wales</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in Wales

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Wales on 28 February 2020, with a case being reported in the Swansea area; this first known case was a person who had recently returned from Italy. The first known case of community transmission was reported on 11 March in the Caerphilly area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 surveillance</span> Measures to monitor the spread of the respiratory disease

COVID-19 surveillance involves monitoring the spread of the coronavirus disease in order to establish the patterns of disease progression. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends active surveillance, with focus of case finding, testing and contact tracing in all transmission scenarios. COVID-19 surveillance is expected to monitor epidemiological trends, rapidly detect new cases, and based on this information, provide epidemiological information to conduct risk assessment and guide disease preparedness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 apps</span> Mobile apps designed to aid contact tracing

COVID-19 apps include mobile-software applications for digital contact-tracing - i.e. the process of identifying persons ("contacts") who may have been in contact with an infected individual - deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic</span> UK government response to COVID-19

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom (January–June 2020)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exposure Notification</span> Initiative for mobile device-based privacy-preserving contact tracing

The (Google/Apple) Exposure Notification (GAEN) system, originally known as the Privacy-Preserving Contact Tracing Project, is a framework and protocol specification developed by Apple Inc. and Google to facilitate digital contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic. When used by health authorities, it augments more traditional contact tracing techniques by automatically logging close approaches among notification system users using Android or iOS smartphones. Exposure Notification is a decentralized reporting protocol built on a combination of Bluetooth Low Energy technology and privacy-preserving cryptography. It is an opt-in feature within COVID-19 apps developed and published by authorized health authorities. Unveiled on April 10, 2020, it was made available on iOS on May 20, 2020 as part of the iOS 13.5 update and on December 14, 2020 as part of the iOS 12.5 update for older iPhones. On Android, it was added to devices via a Google Play Services update, supporting all versions since Android Marshmallow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NHS COVID-19</span> UK contact tracing app for COVID-19

NHS COVID-19 was a voluntary contact tracing app for monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in England and Wales. It had been available since 24 September 2020 for Android and iOS smartphones, and can be used by anyone aged 16 or over.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NHS Test and Trace</span> Government COVID-19 agency in England

NHS Test and Trace is a government-funded service in England, established in 2020 to track and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Despite its name, the programme was never in fact run by the NHS: the programme is part of the UK Health Security Agency; the service and the agency are headed by Jenny Harries.

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland during 2020. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in England from January 2020 to June 2020. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom (July–December 2020)</span>

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom from July 2020 to December 2020.

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in England from July 2020 to December 2020. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom (July–December 2021)</span>

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom from July 2021 to December 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom responses to the COVID-19 pandemic</span> Actions by the United Kingdom regarding the COVID-19 pandemic

The United Kingdom's response to the COVID-19 pandemic consists of various measures by the healthcare community, the British and devolved governments, the military and the research sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom</span>

This article outlines the history of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Though later reporting indicated that there may have been some cases dating from late 2019, COVID-19 was confirmed to be spreading in the UK by the end of January 2020. The country was initially relatively slow implementing restrictions but a legally enforced stay-at-home order had been introduced by late March. Restrictions were steadily eased across the UK in late spring and early summer that year.

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom in 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Public Health Wales Implementation Plan". Welsh Government. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Test, trace, protect: coronavirus". phw.nhs.wales. NHS Wales and PHW. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  3. ↑ "New Welsh Government plan for coronavirus testing has been announced after a deal to provide an extra 5,000 tests a day with a supplier collapsed". BBC News. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "'Collapsed' Roche testing deal correspondence withheld". BBC. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "Health boss claims Covid-19 tests were 'intercepted' for England in bombshell email". Nation Wales. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Covid tests clearly prioritised for England, Public Health Wales boss claimed in email". BBC. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Getting tested for coronavirus (COVID-19)". Welsh Government. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  8. ↑ "Loughborough Lighthouse Lab creates 400 jobs and plans to process 50,000 Covid-19 tests a day". www.leicestermercury.co.uk. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  9. ↑ "App Data Protection Impact Assessment" (PDF). Public Health Wales. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Wales' Test, Trace, Protect Strategy" (PDF). UNISON. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "Guidance on protecting people defined on medical grounds as clinically extremely vulnerable from coronavirus". Welsh Government. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  12. ↑ McCormack, Jayne (23 April 2020). "Contact tracing pilot to start in NI next week". BBC News.
  13. ↑ McCormack, Jayne (19 May 2020). "Executive will 'revisit indoor family meetings'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "Covid-19 tracing app is released in NI". BBC News. 30 July 2020.
  15. ↑ "NI Covid-19 app won't work on older iPhones". BBC News. 31 July 2020.
  16. ↑ "Scotland's Test and Protect: How it works". BBC News. 26 May 2020. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  17. ↑ Flockhart, Gary (11 September 2020). "Protect Scotland: New contact tracing app downloaded half a million times". The Scotsman. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  18. ↑ "Test & Protect". Protect Scotland. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  19. ↑ McCormack, Jayne (23 April 2020). "Contact tracing pilot to start in NI next week". BBC News.
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