We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Almost three quarters of people infected with coronavirus have no symptoms, according to the latest ONS study. Asymptomatic transmission has been stressed as a very important part of why the Test, Track and Trace system is so essential. Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted to BBC Breakfast that this was the “biggest challenge” in the fight against COVID-19 and assured that the tracing system was working properly.

He said: “The biggest challenge we’ve got is finding people who don’t have symptoms and getting them tested.

“They don’t know they’ve got coronavirus but can still pass it on.

“So the message to the public is: if in doubt, get a test.

“If you think you might have coronavirus symptoms, a cough or a temperature or that loss of taste and smell then you really must get a test.”

Mr Hancock continued: “The test and trace system is now working very effectively.

“We set a goal that by the start of September it should be able to reach 80 percent of the contacts of positive cases.

“Last week that figure was 79.7 so we’re very nearly there.

“Of course, we constantly try to improve it, but this is a mission critical part of our response.”

More to follow…

Source: Read Full Article