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CS posted her description of her Role of a UK Contact Tracer

My role as a Contact Tracer with the NHS Test and Trace Programme explained. There are some 25,000 contact tracers, or 'Tier 3' call handlers. Because of my background, I am one of the 3,000 or so Tier 2 clinical contact tracers and I was recruited by NHS Professionals, the organisation that supplies temporary staff to the NHS.

My role involves calling people from 0300 013 5000  who have tested positive for Covid-19, getting them to talk through who they've come into close contact with in the two days before exhibiting symptoms and seven days afterwards – and feeding the details into the system. We have to walk them through where they have been – we are specially trained in techniques to jog their memories – and whom they met. We establish who is a close contact and who is a proximity contact and then someone calls the close contact to advise them that they need to self-isolate for 14 days. We do not disclose who the person was. We are all trained in data security and bound by codes of confidentiality due to our professional registration and no information is shared out with the Test and Trace system.

The biggest concern is that not everyone has symptoms but can still be infectious. The most infectious period is 2 days before symptoms develop so people don’t know they could be spreading the virus. Acting quickly is essential and if it is not convenient when we call we can re-schedule at a more convenient time. It would help hugely if you have contact details of close contacts you may have had to hand.We record every contact: someone who has been in the same household as the person who has tested positive or has been within two metres of the person for at least 15 minutes. Tier 1 is the managerial level comprising Public Health England workers who we refer any complex cases, non-responders and larger scale outbreaks of Covid-19 to.

We do not judge but we do support and advise and try to answer any queries you may have at this worrying time. If we can’t answer your query we can signpost you to further guidance and pass to our team leaders to help with your queries or call you back.

Contrary to the news the system is very effective and the training constantly updated however it requires the co-operation of the public to minimise the risk of spread and increasing the R rate to avoid us going into further lockdown. I personally know a number of people locally and nationally who have tested positive and while some have mild symptoms there are others who have ended up in intensive care and left with long lasting effects. Also there are some testing positive long after the initial 7 days.

Don’t take a risk please remember to social distance.

The number you will be called on is 0300 013 5000 so if you add it to your phone’s contacts you’ll know it is genuine. You will NEVER be asked for your bank or credit card details by a genuine NHS Test and Trace caseworker.

For more information on the Test and Trace programme see https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/For information about support and guidance about Covid-19 see https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

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COVID-19 Digital Rights TrackerThis live tracker documents new measures introduced in response to COVID-19 that pose a risk to digital rights around the world.

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19:

• Contact Tracing Apps are being used in 28 countries
• Alternative digital tracking measures are active in 35 countries
• Physical surveillance technologies are in use in 11 countries
• COVID-19-related censorship has been imposed by 18 governments
• Internet shutdowns continue in 3 countries despite the outbreak
  
  Since the outbreak of COVID-19, governments around the world have implemented a range of digital tracking, physical surveillance and censorship measures in a bid to slow the spread of the virus. Some of these may well be proportionate, necessary and legitimate during these unprecedented times. However, others have been rushed through legislative bodies and implemented without adequate scrutiny. Over the coming weeks and months, this tracker will document new initiatives being deployed that could threaten digital rights to help stem overreach, promote scrutiny, and ensure that intrusive measures don’t continue for any longer than absolutely necessary.
  
  Contact Tracing apps
  
  Key Findings:
  • There are currently 47 contact tracing apps available globally
  • India’s Aarogya Setu is the most popular, with 50 million downloads
  • 53% use GPS, 15% use Bluetooth & 28% use both GPS and Bluetooth
  • 24 apps (51%) contain Google and Facebook tracking
  • 11 apps (23%) have no privacy policy
  • 25 apps (53%) do not disclose how long they will store users’ data for
  • 28 apps (60%) have no publicly stated anonymity measures
  
  

https://www.top10vpn.com/research/investigations/covid-19-digital-rights-tracker/

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"Councils are asking for real-time information about who has tested positive, down to the names and contact details of individuals, and failing that by street, postcode, or catchment area of 1,500 people. However, most are only receiving a daily feed of aggregate community test results for the entire upper tier local authority.

This could hinder the ability to spot outbreaks at the earliest opportunity, according to Chris Jewell, an epidemiologist at Lancaster University and a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) subgroup on modelling.

“We have to wait for [outbreaks] to emerge through the noise at a much larger spatial scale,” he said. In practical terms, that means waiting for more people to become infected and, he said, “delays are everything in dealing with outbreaks”.

Hudspeth said he had been “lobbying hard” for the information since the beginning of April when the health secretary, Matt Hancock, launched the national coronavirus testing programme.

“If someone has gone into a care home we need to contact them as soon as possible before they go into other areas and spread the virus,” he said. “We need to know on the day so that we can clamp down and prevent the spread.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/23/no-10-not-sharing-covid-19-data-on-local-outbreaks-say-councils

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a good overall of what where etc of covid apps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_apps