1,600 people unable to be reached by NHS Track and Trace in Surrey and Hampshire
According to figures from the Department for Health and Social Care.
Around 1,600 people in Surrey and Hampshire who came into close contact with someone with coronavirus could not be reached by the NHS Track and Trace Service.
The Government has faced mounting pressure over failings in the NHS Test and Trace system, which has recently seen up to four times the number of people trying to book a test as the number of tests available.
It comes amid rapidly rising case numbers, which could result in 50,000 new cases every day by mid-October unless the current rate of infection is curbed, according to the Government's chief scientific advisor.
Data from the Department for Health and Social care shows 1,134 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Surrey and 815 in Hampshire were transferred to the Test and Trace service between May 28 and September 9.
Coronavirus patients reached by the service are urged to give details for anyone they were in close contact with in the 48 hours before their symptoms started, the NHS says.
A further 2,330 close contacts were identified in this way in Hampshire and a further 2,868 in Surrey – also referred to as "non-complex" cases, meaning they could be dealt with through a call centre or online.
673 people in Hampshire did not acknowledge they also needed to self-isolate and alongside 980 people in Surrey.
The DHSC says a close contact is not reached when there is no response to text, email or call reminders, or when their communication details were not available.
Across England 64% of non-complex close contacts were reached and told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace in the latest week to September 9.
Saffron Cordery, chief executive of NHS Providers, said this falls "well short" of SAGE's 80% target:
“Trust leaders are increasingly concerned with the current testing shortages impacting on NHS service recovery and winter preparations due to staff and their family members being unable to access a test.
“Additionally, with the number of positive Covid-19 cases increasing, but a reduction in the proportion being contact traced, we are looking at renewed pressure on the NHS."
Baroness Dido Harding, who heads up the NHS Test and Trace service, admitted last week that demand for tests was outstripping capacity but denied claims that the system was "failing".
She suggested around a quarter of those coming forward for a test did not have symptoms.
Under new rules, from today (28 September) people in England will legally have to self-isolate for 14 days if they test positive for coronavirus, or they are instructed to do by NHS Test and Trace.
Fines for non-compliance will start at £1,000, rising to £10,000 for repeat offenders, while people on benefits will be eligible for a one-off support payment of £500 if they face a loss of earnings as a result of having to quarantine.