Extra £15.7m to increase contact tracing workforce in Wales

The funding will increase the number of contact tracing staff in Wales from 1,800 to 3,100 in time for an expected rise in demand in December and through to the end of March. A new all-Wales team is also being set-up to support local teams when they have a surge in cases.

“Contact tracing is a vital element of our Test, Trace, Protect strategy to stop the spread of the virus,” Mr Gething said.

“The contact tracing system in Wales has performed well so far, with over 90% of contacts being traced successfully since it started.

We have used the firebreak period to review Test, Trace, Protect to enable us to maintain and improve performance as we head into what we expect will be a difficult winter, with the possibility that cases will increase.

“This extra funding will allow local contact tracing teams to increase the number of contact tracers and advisers for the busy winter period. We are also creating a new all-Wales tracing team to help our local teams manage surges on days when there are particularly high numbers of new positive cases.

He added: “Together with our investment in testing laboratories in Wales this will ensure or Test, Trace, Protect strategy can help protect us by quickly identifying people with coronavirus symptoms; identifying new hotspots and isolating as many contacts as possible.”