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Brits can now claim £500 test and trace support directly through NHS app if it tells them to self-isolate
BRITS can now claim £500 test and trace support directly through the NHS app if it tells them to self-isolate.
People will have to give up their anonymity to get the payment, however.
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It is hoped the payment - which was already available outside the app under certain eligibility criteria - will encourage more compliance with the coronavirus rules.
NHS Test and Trace confirmed people who want to access the payment will have to give up their anonymity, in order to verify they have received an official notification telling them to isolate.
The payments aren't a one-off, so you can claim it every time you're told to self isolate, and is also given by your local authority.
But you have to meet certain criteria, such a receiving benefits or being on a low income, to claim each time.
The payment system went live nationwide on October 12.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in a press conference today: "I can confirm that people instructed to isolate by the Covid-19 app, and are eligible, can claim the £500 Test and Trace Support Payment directly through the app too.
"We can deploy this sort of massive testing, because of the work NHS Test and Trace have done so effectively to build our vast testing capacity.
"Today’s figures on testing and tracing show that – thanks to improvements in the way we do contact tracing – by reducing the number of repeat calls that are made to individual households, which has been one of the pieces of feedback that we’ve received, our contact tracing now reaches 86% of contacts, and that’s up from around 60 per cent just a few weeks ago."
TEST AND TRACE PLANS
Regular coronavirus testing in workplaces, pubs and theatres could be rolled out under plans to ramp up the Test and Trace service.
Serial testing to reduce the isolation period for contacts of positive cases and a rollout of community testing in Tier 3 areas of England are also on the cards.
Publishing a business plan for the coming months, NHS Test and Trace said it aims to increase the speed and reach of its service and make better use of data to help identify and react to virus clusters and outbreaks.
For its next phase, objectives include expanding the scale of testing to "enable our largest employers, critical industries and the cultural and hospitality sectors to run regular testing programmes".
Serial testing pilots, which officials hope could be a game-changer in cutting the isolation period from 14 days to seven for contacts, are under way whereby people are sent a box of lateral flow tests to take each day for a week.
It is understood if the person tests negative each morning they can then carry on as normal, and if they test positive they would be asked to take a PCR test to confirm the result and isolate as appropriate.
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Key objectives for the Test and Trace service include an expansion of testing capacity and increased support for those self-isolating.
An end-of-January target for an improved contact tracing system, aiming to reach 90% of cases and 85% of the contacts they name, is also set out.
There is also an aim to reach contacts faster, with a March target of approximately 80 per cent being notified within 72 hours of the person who has tested positive booking an in-person test.
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