Covid-19 test and trace gets local boost in Rotherham

EFFORTS to fight coronavirus have been given a boost with news of a team being set up in Rotherham in a bid to reach more people testing positive for the virus. 

At Rotherham’s Local Outbreak Engagement Board (LOEB) meeting last Friday (November 20), members heard how the local test and trace service will be working alongside the national NHS Test and Trace service to offer support to residents in Rotherham - and residents are being urged to 'Answer the call'.

Rotherham Council leader and chair of the LOEB, Cllr Chris Read, said the test and trace service was a hugely important way to help stop the virus spreading in Rotherham.

He added: "If the team do contact you, I encourage you to give them the information they ask for.

“We understand that everyone’s circumstances are different and the team is not policing the number of cases, we simply need to know who may also be at risk of the virus so that we can offer them support and to urge them to isolate as needed.”

The council-run team will contact people who have received a positive Covid-19 test result, but who the national NHS Test and Trace service hasn’t been able to contact within the first 24 hours.

This will be undertaken via sending a text message in the first instance to let people know they are about to receive a phone call and that it is genuine. The call will be made from a local number 01709 807319.

When people are contacted by the Rotherham local test and trace team, they will be asked where they’ve been recently and who they’ve been in close contact with.

The information will then be fed back to the NHS test and trace team to help them contact anyone else who may have then caught the virus.

The service is currently working from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.