Track and Trace, Disgrace

[Jenasaurus]

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/30/boris-johnsons-test-and-tracing-system-britain-lockdown?fbclid=IwAR1dD88epDykqQI2k3imKu2QurjVgNgeDXxPCUKsBhSt1GlY9l5zzxzGDHk

This is an anonymous report from one of the new team of test and tracers, they have no idea what they are doing and admit they are paid to basically do nothing.

Just read it. They can’t mess it up more than this even if they tried.

It’s okay, Johnson said it is world beating .

I want to apply and be paid the 10 pounds an hour to sit at home

It hasn't even been launched in the UK though has it? Only Isle of Wight?

A lot of mumsnetters last month were complaining about there being no track and trace and we should look at countries like South Korea who were using it etc etc

Now it's here, the same people are complaining and saying they're not going to download it.

FFS

It started Thursday , the app isn’t ready yet though.

Dont think they've really started yet... why not give it a chance?

There is a thread somewhere on here of people who had applied and were going through the training.

I would imagine like anything that's starts it take a while to get going. I would wait a week to judge.

I have no idea why we aren't using the same system as other countries, but nonetheless; to create and implement a brand new system is a huge task, and to do so in as tight of timescales as the government have demanded is ridiculous. I do feel there's more to it though, does he really leave a (for now) secure-ish job to look for something else in the middle of a pandemic, when he does actually have a job to hopefully go back to. If they were just doing nothing, is he really that much of a good Samaritan to leave to find something else to help people out? not saying there aren't huge fundamental issues, but seems bizarre.

Ffs it’s not rocket science. I’m in a country that’s been doing it since day 1. Dd was contacted on a Sunday morning after being named by someone who had tested positive. She was told to quarantine (which she’d been doing anyway since the positive friend had suspected she had corona), had a test the next day and was contacted that evening to check it had been done & she was following the quarantine. And this was all in the middle of March.

Why doesn’t the government ask for help from countries with successful track and trace systems and why are they heralding this as amazing when really it should have started 2 months ago and that would have reduced the number of cases & the number of deaths.

I hate to mention the D word but the contract was given to Dominic Cummings’ friend without being put to tender apparently.

There were other systems available without having to build one from scratch but they didn’t want to use them.

I don’t understand the point of this at the moment when we are all meant to stay 2M apart anyway- surely there won’t be anyone to trace? And if so, it will be colleagues and family, who you can just tell yourself anyway rather than giving all their details to the contact tracer on the phone for them to call them on your behalf? The app is needed to contact those people you don’t know and therefore cannot contact yourself, but then we really shouldn’t be less than 2M from anyone anyway so there shouldn’t be anyone to contact! What am I missing?

‘ What am I missing?’

That they are also looking for local clumps, and to understand transmission patterns

Yes it’s about warning individuals, but also about the behind-the-scenes analysis, looking how people are moving round and how clusters develop, providing information that might later be useful in informing decisions about more targeted restrictions

Ok well that makes more sense as to the importance of it, why don’t they explain that though? All they are pushing is ‘stopping the spread of infection by contacting people who don’t know they have it and can unknowingly spread it’ when the reality is anyone who tests positive is going to tell those they’ve been in close contact with anyway

@twinnywinny14

I don’t understand the point of this at the moment when we are all meant to stay 2M apart anyway- surely there won’t be anyone to trace? And if so, it will be colleagues and family, who you can just tell yourself anyway rather than giving all their details to the contact tracer on the phone for them to call them on your behalf? The app is needed to contact those people you don’t know and therefore cannot contact yourself, but then we really shouldn’t be less than 2M from anyone anyway so there shouldn’t be anyone to contact! What am I missing?

Apart from family, The only people I might be closer than 2m for 15 minutes is fellow commuters. I'm British FGS, I don't even make eye contact with them, I certainly don't have their phone number!

@twinnywinny14 that’s exactly what I’ve been saying. The only people I am seeing is close family and friends, so I can tell them myself if I test positive. Even when I’m at work and in contact with children in my class I would inform my employer who would then tell the right children to isolate.

Are you really surprised?

I have no idea why we aren't using the same system as other countries

Because we had to opt for the system that would put money in the pockets of Cummings' friends, of course.

It’s got fuck all to do with Cummings.

I thought you had to be at least a band 6 registered professional?

I thought someone said that it was a relation of Cummings, there are some clinicians but only 7000 I presume the rest are from other walks of life.

It’s got fuck all to do with Cummings

So how come the contract has gone to a company run by his associates, rather than using one of the systems that has already been tried and tested and offers more data security?

Why did the government not work with the people behind the Zoe app that is already up and running? Surely that would have been sensible rather than develop a whole new system,obviously the 25,000 tracers would still be required.

@JudyCoolibar , I despise Cummings but the Alice Cummings connected with the company is not related to him. She is a lot older than his sister , whose name is Francesca. I found this information on factcheck.org.

There are processes to awarding contracts, even if they are single source (justifiable imo in this instance due to time constraints). I am not saying that there isn't likely corruption, but politicians don't have a delegation, they can say who they want but ultimately procurement teams need to be content and provide robust justifications for any decisions- it's their arses on the line. So no, Cummings hasn't just awarded it to his mates, although it's not surprising a lot of people know people who run companies in these sectors.

Now it's here, the same people are complaining and saying they're not going to download it.

It doesn't fucking work! If they'd have gone with the google/apple app instead of trying to do their own shite one we'd be up and running by now.