Police given access to test & trace data

Test & trace data has been (on a case-by-case basis) provided to the police, to help ensure that those legally required to self-isolate are indeed doing so.

Science

by Sudarshan Sreeram
on 22 October 2020

in Issue 1752

The effectiveness of contact tracing apps is starting to show, and it isn’t looking positive. Each week, the percentage of individuals notified about a confirmed positive contact has decreased, which is brings into question the accuracy of the test and trace system. This failure to reach notifications causes a risk of further transmission due to a lack of self-isolation. Further, it defeats the purpose of maintaining an automated contact tracing scheme in the first place.

To this end, test and trace information has been (on a case-by-case basis) provided to the police. The belief is that they would help ensure that those legally required to self-isolate are indeed doing so. Failure to meet this legal obligation may see an individual charged anywhere from £1000 to £10,000. Some suggest that this move to hand data over to the Police might discourage those looking to take a test, with MPs raising concerns over how police have access to the data while local councils do not.

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