almost 6,000 people who tested positive still haven’t been traced

A pregnant woman who caught Covid-19 was only contacted by the Test and Trace service eight days after she learned of her positive result.

Sally Fazeli, from Preston, Lancashire, received the call – asking for details of people she had been in contact with and offering advice on self-isolating – just as her own period of self-isolation was ending.

Her husband, Ayman Fazeli, said: “They said on the call, ironically, they knew she was in the vulnerable category by way of being pregnant and that they wanted to get in touch with her as soon as they could.”

Mrs Fazeli, 33, first experienced symptoms (a cough and a fever) on September 19, had a test the following day, and received notification of the positive result on September 21.

In that message she was told to isolate for 10 days from the point when the symptoms first appeared. But, she did not receive a call from Test and Trace until September 28, some nine days into the 10-day self-isolation period. Her husband, who was listed as one of her contacts, did not receive a call until October 1. 

Shane Walker, from Wigan, also received a similarly delayed Test and Trace call after he was tested on September 19.

“The speaker said they were from Test and Trace and asked if I had any questions,” he said. “At that point, I told them that I had only one day left of isolating.”