From Thursday (19 November) a local contact tracing service will launch in Cambridgeshire, to reach people whom the national system staffed by Serco has failed to contact.

Cambridgeshire’s local councils will be contacting people who have tested positive for COVID, giving them help, advice, and support to self-isolate.

Council officers who have undergone special training will follow up on people who have tested positive but have not responded to the national service, and will ask them for details of their close contacts.

Initial contact will be by phone, text or email asking people to call a local number. If this fails, officers carrying council ID will make house to house visits to reach those people who have tested positive and will give advice and support. They will also be asked to share details of others they have been in contact with.

Anyone who has been contacted and is concerned about this can call the council or local community hub on 0345 045 5219 to check the identity of the tracer.

The local contact tracing service in Peterborough has been up and running since August and has been very successful in tracing people when the national service did not.

Support for people in self-isolation

Support is available for people who need to isolate and don’t have friends, family or neighbours to help.

• The network of council support hubs can help people get food and medicine, or even find volunteers to walk dogs. See also https://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/content/community-support-group-details for details of local support groups in East Cambridgeshire.
• In addition, each district council is running a Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme which entitles people who meet certain criteria to a one-off payment of £500. (Those who don’t meet the criteria to claim from the Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme, but are still adversely affected as a result of not being able to work, can apply for a £500 discretionary payment.) See https://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/content/coronavirus-financial-assistance for more information in East Cambridgeshire.

Remember: no-one contacted by genuine Test and Trace staff will ever be asked for money or their bank details. Tests for Covid-19, whether at a mobile testing unit, official drive-through centres or elsewhere, or ordered online or by phone, are always entirely free.

Covid cases in schools week commencing 9 November

• Cambridge: 20  
• East Cambridgeshire: 12  
• Fenland: 8  
• Huntingdonshire: 19  
• Peterborough: 46
• South Cambridgeshire: 13  

Estimated cases in East Cambs Tuesday 17 November

From King’s College London COVID Symptom Study app