Is test and trace compulsory?

[Fluffyhairdontcare]

Tested positive today. Isolating and contacted the people I've seen in close contact over the past few days. Had a number of texts and emails from NHStracing telling me to provide details of my close contacts. Is that a legal requirement?

No

They will keep contacting and are pretty persistent.

Without an official contact from test and trace then the people you have told to isolate may not be able to get time off work/sick pay as you are not an official channel of info

I thought not but they have become very intrusive.

Someone rocked up at my house today because two days ago I hung up on them.

Ironic really, the guy said I don’t have any info I just need you to know you need to speak with them, he had a local council lanyard on. I replied: so you don’t have any information about me other than where I live, the fact I have tested positive, the fact I need to speak to TTP because I haven’t been forthcoming with my phone calls, the fact that I ‘should be isolating’.. so no info then. Ok

I thought they call 10x, then it goes to the local authority who might visit you at home to check on you and get the info.

We are isolating here and ds2 has refused to answer the phone so the local council came over with a leaflet. Unbelievable. I am positive too and they called me so many times I answered, was feeling really ill, had filled in the form but still they wanted to talk to me. Two days later they called again, "a welfare call" wtf? I told them "please dont" and she hung up sounding most offended. What a shocking waste of money.

They will harass you relentlessly if you don’t from my experience last week. They then turned up at our home to check we were isolating.

We answered their calls every day.... painful! We have the same information day after day and kept asking them not to call every day but it was relentless.... At the end of each call they said "Have a great day!". 🙄

Completely pointless to make so many calls and visits. Would be better if even some of the billions spent on this through private form Serco had been spent on the actual NHS

@Twilightstarbright

They will harass you relentlessly if you don’t from my experience last week. They then turned up at our home to check we were isolating.

Woah! That's so extreme!

Check with your friends before naming them to T&T.

I would be incandescent with rage if someone named me without permission to T&T - I'm self employed, don't get sick pay, or furlough, or UC, got a pittance in SEISS (£93/month it averaged out at, because I'm "newly" self employed) and wouldn't be eligible for the £500 payment either.

If I don't work I don't get paid.

No way could I afford to self isolate.

@AdventuresDownRabbitholes if you're fully vaccinated you wouldn't need to self isolate.

@AdventuresDownRabbitholes

Check with your friends before naming them to T&T.

I would be incandescent with rage if someone named me without permission to T&T - I'm self employed, don't get sick pay, or furlough, or UC, got a pittance in SEISS (£93/month it averaged out at, because I'm "newly" self employed) and wouldn't be eligible for the £500 payment either.

If I don't work I don't get paid.

No way could I afford to self isolate.

Well quite. I can't imagine many people naming all the mates they've seen in the last xxx days, really? My caller wanted contact details for the people who live in my house. I said, why? They all know I have it. I gave them the landline which no one answers.

God how infuriating. I've told everyone that I saw, they've all been LFT-ing each morning since I told them. None of them work in jobs that will be disrupted eg all work flexi/ from home. One has specifically asked me not to give her details to TT. I'll check with the others.

Do I need to engage with them at all? Will it make the harrassment stop?

@Fluffyhairdontcare yes they’ll leave you alone if you engage with them and give them some information.

We told everyone we had seen as soon as my LFT was positive, so they were aware. I did the t&t online and didn’t put everyone’s names in as frankly I was feeling very unwell and I knew they knew already.

@IWasBornInAThunderstorm it was! The visit involves handing me a letter accusing me of not self isolating when I have been

I’ve found them really aggressive and pushy with no consideration for the fact that both DH and I were feeling very unwell and not well enough for 30 minute calls when we had filled out the online t&t, and had DS to look after.

Oh god, this sounds awful. I hate phone calls!

My 14 yo tested positive yesterday. I've told everyone we were with the day before (typically after seeing no one all summer he went to a small birthday party the day before symptoms started) but over messenger. I don't even have contact details for most of them.

He's definitely isolating, he's in no fit state to go out.

Why do T&T need details of your contacts if they don’t even need to isolate now?

They still ring up every few days or text you to check you’re isolating. Just had it in our house. The phone calls, texts and emails have been relentless 😩 and they are all an incompetent bunch who just read off a script because if you ask anything they don’t know the answer.

Sounds like harassment. Why do they have to keep phoning if you've said yes you're isolating.

This is why I wouldn't take a test if I was ill and would just isolate, I don't want some idiot on the phone every day and the council visiting if I am in bed ill

[quote dementedpixie]@AdventuresDownRabbitholes if you're fully vaccinated you wouldn't need to self isolate.[/quote]
I am double jabbed, but no longer needing to isolate is a very recent change.

The impact of being told to isolate is such that I'd sooner T&T don't know I exist. If I don't need to isolate there's no need for them to have my phone number.

@Lifeispassingby

Why do T&T need details of your contacts if they don’t even need to isolate now?

Because they do need to isolate if they're not double jabbed.

Because they want to ensure that people are notified that they've been in close contact and are therefore at a higher risk of testing positive.

Because the guidance recommends that anyone who has been in close contact should take a PCR test and they can only do that if they know that they've been in close contact.

Having recently gone through the process it does seem very repetitive! However, you should engage with them. You don’t even have to talk to them. Just do the on line form (would have been sent to you via text, assuming you have your mobile number when you booked the test?)

They are aggressive in trying to contact you - but that’s because if they don’t get hold of a certain % of people, then the press and opposition (government) will give out stink. So yes, they need to get hold of as many people as possible.

Even though many won’t need to SI, it’s so they have the correct information from nhs directly. And they are then able to go and get a couple of PCRs.

The whole process does seem overboard though. After doing T&T for my Young DD, I then got a phone call to say ‘you’ve been identified as a contact’ .. er no shit Sherlock! I then got a call for my other DD saying the same (of course with her being a child I have to give my phone number as her number as she doesn’t have a phone herself). Lots of wasted resource. Also the call itself took 48 mins with me having to repeat the same things. It was painful to say the least.

When I did it for myself, I did it on line (much easier) and gave email address for those ‘I live with’ to save me getting the calls.

I have since had a call ‘asking how I am and so I intent to continue to SI’. Really don’t see the point of it. I’m hardly going to say ‘no I don’t’. They did thougb inform me under what circumstances I will have to continue SI after the 10 days. Which I did find useful. But they could have sent this info by text!

A lot of wasted money in the process. Whilst a t&t system is needed, it’s too repetitive! And too much money / resource being wasted!

My DC tested positive last week. The calls started within a couple of hours of getting the results. They called 5 times on day 1 and a further 3 the next day. Didn't answer any of them. Initially, as I don't answer unknown numbers and then, once I established it was them, either missed the call or was too busy working to have time for what I knew would be a LONG call. I then got a call & email from the local authority Covid team asking me to call them. They said they would try again but if unsuccessful may visit. I tried a couple of times but constantly engaged. They didn't call me but next day a man turned up with a letter when I was at work (I'm double jabbed). I tried again when I got home but office closed. I emailed them explaining the above the fact I was double jabbed and that I was aware of how long the DC needed to isolate. They replied thanking me for the information and with a link to fill in the form online. I've not done it (that was 2 days ago) and not had a call since (touch wood). Isolation is now almost over so would be little point now....

It's the length of the calls, repetitions of calls for the same household and refusal to deviate from the script that's most annoying. Having to go through questions about DCs workplace when they are clearly not of working age was ridiculous