New COVID-19 ‘Test, Trace and Protect’ strategy for Wales outlined

A new strategy for testing the general public and tracing the spread of coronavirus in Wales has been outlined – including increasing testing capacity to 20,000 a day.

The Welsh Government says mass testing and technology will be at the heart of the new Test, Trace and Protect strategy, “which will help Wales move to the next stage of the response to the virus.”

The plan includes increasing testing of critical workers, a new system of home testing for the public if they COVID-19 symptoms and a new app to track symptoms in the general population and contact others who have symptoms or have tested positive.

Currently testing capacity stands at around 5,000 tests a day in Wales, yesterday saw just 1,087 tests carried out.

There are six drive-through testing centres – including one in Llandudno – eight mobile units and a number of community testing centres throughout Wales.

According to the new plan, capacity will be increased by up to 20,000 tests a day, this will be achieved “by drawing on a UK-wide scheme, as the Test, Trace, Protect strategy is implemented.”

On the ‘Test, Trace and Protect’ plan, health minister Vaughan Gething said: “At a national level, Welsh Government will lead and provide strategic direction, including using developing scientific advice to inform our response.”

Public Health Wales will provide national co-ordination, advice and support on contact tracing methods and priorities, “which will ensure that we have robust all Wales standards and comprehensive guidance for how contact tracing should operate.” The health minister said.

NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS) will deliver a single digital platform for contact tracing across Wales.

“This will allow people to simply and quickly report their contacts, supporting contact tracing teams to work effectively, and providing real-time intelligence across the whole of Wales on the coverage of the disease, how quickly it is spreading, and where there are hotspots of infection.” Mr Gething said.

Contact tracing will be delivered regionally with Local Health Boards and local authorities working in partnership along with other public services to deploy contact tracing teams.

Mr Gething said: “This will help to speed up contact tracing activity, and to identify new trends or local clusters of the disease as early as possible.”

A new UK-wide smartphone app will be launched, it will anonymously track when two devices using the app are close together.

This differs from the NHS contact tracing app currently being used on the Isle of Wight as part of the UK government trial in England.

The ‘proximity tracking’ is different to contact tracing, “because it does not record any personal or location details.” Mr Gething said.

The app aims to help manage the spread of the disease, for example as an early warning system which works more quickly than contact tracing, and by sending an anonymous alert to strangers who would not be reported through contact tracing.

Mr Gething said: “We all want to be able to return to normal life as quickly as possible and to ease restrictions further – the science will guide us about when that happens.

“Our Test, Trace, Protect strategy will be a key element in helping us do that by enabling us to quickly identify people with coronavirus symptoms; to identify any new hotspots and to isolate as many contacts as possible.”

The Minister added: “We have to learn to live with the virus. This approach will help people understand whether they have been exposed to the virus so they can limit their exposure to others. This will help us to prevent infection and track the virus as restrictions are eased.

“The public will be our most important partners. It is only through their willingness to report their symptoms, identify their contacts and follow the advice to self-isolate if they have symptoms that we will be able to control the spread of coronavirus.”

The strategy has been welcomed by the Welsh Conservatives, with Shadow Health Minister Angela Burns MS describing it as “long overdue”.

Angela Burns MS said: “However, the devil will be in the detail, and at the moment, this announcement is more of an outline, rather than a definitive plan.

“I also welcome, cautiously, the Minister’s pledge to increase testing to 10,000 tests a day. Again, significantly increased testing is something that I and my Welsh Conservatives have been demanding for weeks.

“And yet, we have been given testing targets in Wales before, with 5,000 a day pledged by the end of April, which we know was not achieved. Even as recently as yesterday, figures were released indicating that just a fifth [1,193] of daily testing capacity [5,300] is being realised.

“Targets, if set, must be met, and until this new – and hopefully not over-ambitious – target of 10,000 is reached consistently, then it’s little more than a pipe dream.”

Full details on the ‘Test, Trace and Protect’ strategy can be found here: https://gov.wales/test-trace-protect-html