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"The launch of the NHS COVID-19 app will help residents, visitors and businesses, along with the councils which support them, to keep track of and isolate future outbreaks."

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the LGA's Community Wellbeing Board, responds to Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock’s speech today that Public Health England is to be replaced with the National Institute for Health Protection.

"Local health protection teams have reached 99.1 per cent of contacts who were asked to self-isolate, compared to 59 per cent of close contacts managed either online or by call centres."

“It remains extremely worrying that with infection rates and deaths from coronavirus continuing to increase during this lockdown, the test and trace system is still only picking up six out of every ten contacts of people who tested positive."

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responds to new figures, published today by Public Health England, showing a 44 per cent decline in the number of people in England with tuberculosis between 2011-2018.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responds to the latest figures published today by NHS England on the delayed transfers of care.

"Today’s figures show the service has not yet been able to reach a third of people who tested positive for COVID-19, whose contact details were unavailable or incorrect or where there has been no response to text, email and call reminders."

"Councils’ public health teams are using their unique expertise and understanding of their communities to reach those who cannot be contacted by the NHS Test and Trace system, including speaking other languages. These figures show they are having much more success at reaching complex close contacts of positive cases."

"Everybody has to play their part in helping to get this pandemic under control. It is good that the NHS Test and Trace system is reaching the majority of those who tested positive and who are passing on details of their close contacts, but it is still concerning that nearly 20 per cent of positive cases cannot be found."

“If we are to prevent this second wave from escalating further, we need the system to meet the recommended 80 per cent benchmark if it is to have any chance of success."