Derbyshire County Council aim to avoid local lockdown by following up national Test and Trace programme

Derbyshire County Council are following up the national NHS Test and Trace programme by calling local people who have contracted the virus, in the hopes of avoiding a local lockdown.
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The local authority’s public health team have been hitting the phones to contact residents who have either tested positive for Covid-19 or have been instructed to self-isolate as a close contact of someone who has.

Derbyshire County Council are following up on the work of the national NHS Test and Trace programme, to build up a ‘detailed picture’ of the scale of new cases across the region and help them avoid a local lockdown.

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Residents who are contacted will be asked more in-depth questions about their movements and who they’ve been in contact with in order to slow the spread of the virus.

Derbyshire Council Council are calling local people who have either tested positive or been instructed to self-isolate as a close contact of someone who has.Derbyshire Council Council are calling local people who have either tested positive or been instructed to self-isolate as a close contact of someone who has.
Derbyshire Council Council are calling local people who have either tested positive or been instructed to self-isolate as a close contact of someone who has.

The local authority is working together with district and borough councils across Derbyshire to create a sense of where transmissions are happening and help them build important links between cases allowing them to respond more quickly to local outbreaks and put effective measures in place to bypass the need for a local lockdown.

Derbyshire’s Director of Public Health Dean Wallace said: "It is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

"Although these residents will already have been contacted by the national Test and Trace programme our work in Derbyshire is helping is to create a more detailed picture of what’s happening locally.

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"This all means that we will be able to respond more quickly and efficiently when we see a pattern of outbreaks occurring.

"By responding earlier to identified outbreaks, it could avoid the need for any extra lockdown restrictions in a particular area.

"So I’d urge anyone who is contacted by members of my team to do the right thing and give all the correct information.

"It is important to remember that this virus hasn’t gone away. We all want to get back to doing the things we love and by working together we can do that more quickly."

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People are urged to continue to follow the guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus by washing their hands regularly, staying two metres apart from other households and wearing a face covering when required.

Only six people, including children are allowed to attend a social gathering at once, both indoors and outdoors.

Anyone who develops any of the main Covid-19 symptoms, such as a change or loss to your sense of taste or smell, a new, continuous cough or a high temperature should self-isolate immediately for 10 days.

They should book a free test online or by calling NHS 119 and continue to self-isolate until they get their results.

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People who test positive will be contacted by the NHS Test and Trace team by email, text or phone and any close contacts will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days.

Under new laws, it is an offence to knowingly provide false information about close contacts to NHS Test and Trace.

Public health staff have reassured residents that employees will never ask people for their payment or bank details.

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