Transparency data

Weekly statistics for NHS Test and Trace (England) and coronavirus testing (UK): 20 August to 26 August

Updated 7 September 2020

Main points

Since NHS Test and Trace launched (28 May to 26 August):

6,732 new people tested^{[footnote 1]} positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) in England in between 20 August and 26 August. This is an increase of 6% in positive cases compared with the previous week and the highest weekly number since the end of May. The number of people tested has decreased by 1% in the same time period.

Median turnaround times for pillar 2 (swab testing for the wide population) have decreased for in-person tests between 20 August and 26 August compared with the previous week. However, turnaround times for satellite or home tests have continued to increase.

7,683 people were transferred to the contact-tracing system between 20 August and 26 August. This is a decrease of 3% compared with the previous week.

Of those transferred to the contact-tracing system between 20 August and 26 August, 81.4% were reached and asked to provide information about their contacts, compared with 75.2% in the previous week.

31,388 people were identified as coming into close contact with someone who has tested positive between 20 August and 26 August. Of these, 69.4% were reached and asked to self-isolate, compared with 77.1% in the previous week.

For coronavirus (COVID-19) testing in the UK:

Testing capacity between 20 August and 26 August was at 2,695,786 tests per week, an increase of 18% since the previous week.

1,170,658 tests were sent out across the UK within pillars 2 and 4 in the latest week. This has increased by 41% since the previous week.

1,448,784 tests were processed in the UK, across all pillars, between the week from 20 August to 26 August, a 21% increase from the previous week.

Introduction

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) publishes weekly statistics on NHS Test and Trace (England) and coronavirus (COVID-19) testing in the UK, across all 4 testing pillars. The purpose of this publication is to provide a weekly update on the implementation and performance of NHS Test and Trace in England and testing in the UK.

For NHS Test and Trace (England), this includes:

Testing

• people tested for coronavirus (COVID-19), England
• people testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), England
• time taken for test results to become available, England

Contact tracing

• people transferred to the contact-tracing system, and the time taken for them to be reached, England
• close contacts identified for complex and non-complex cases, and the time taken for them to be reached, England

For coronavirus (COVID-19) testing in the UK, this includes:

• lab testing capacity, UK
• number of tests sent out, UK
• number of tests processed, UK

Data collected for NHS Test and Trace is primarily for operational purposes and was not designed to track the spread of the virus. Studies into the spread of the virus in the UK are carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A list of data sources relating to the coronavirus pandemic in the UK can be found at coronavirus (COVID-19) statistics and analysis. A breakdown of all available testing and contact tracing data in the UK can be found at testing and contact tracing in the UK: summary of data.

A full explanation of the data sources and methods used to produce these statistics can be found in the additional methodology document for NHS Test and Trace statistics.

Revisions to figures previously published

Figures given in previous releases are routinely revised for:

• people tested for coronavirus
• people testing positive for coronavirus
• pillar 2 testing turnaround times
• contact tracing
• cumulative figures for coronavirus testing in the UK

Figures for pillar 1 testing turnaround times are not routinely revised as only minor changes occur to past weeks post-publication. Figures are only revised when substantial changes occur. More detail on routine revisions is given in the quality section.

NHS Test and Trace

NHS Test and Trace was launched in England on 28 May and ensures that anyone who develops symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) can quickly be tested to find out if they have the virus. It then helps trace recent close contacts of anyone who tests positives for coronavirus and, if necessary, notifies them that they must self-isolate at home to help stop the spread of the virus. The flow of how people move through the NHS Test and Trace service is shown in Figure 1. More information about NHS Test and Trace can be found at NHS Test and Trace: how it works.

Testing in England

NHS Test and Trace starts with an individual taking an antigen test, either in pillar 1 (testing in hospitals and outbreak locations), pillar 2 (national swab testing) or pillar 4 (prevalence studies). Those who go on to test positive will have their case transferred to NHS Test and Trace for contact tracing.

NHS Test and Trace is for England only, therefore the figures in this section are given for England. Figures for UK testing are given in the coronavirus (COVID-19) testing in the UK section. Information on contract tracing in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can be found directly from Public Health Scotland, the Welsh government and the Northern Ireland Public Health Agency.

Figure 1: flowchart showing how people move through the NHS Test and Trace service

The diagram shows the journey a person can take through the NHS Test and Trace service. For pillar 1, this starts with a person having a coronavirus test in hospital. For pillar 2, this starts with a person booking or ordering a coronavirus test. Pillar 2 tests can be either be conducted at a regional test site or mobile test unit; or a satellite or home test can be conducted. For pillar 4, this starts with a person having a coronavirus test as part of a prevalence study (those who are tested as part of anonymous studies do not get passed on to contact tracing). After tests have been taken, they are sent to a laboratory for processing. Once processed, a person will be emailed or texted their result.

If a person has a positive COVID-19 test result, then their case is transferred to the NHS Test and Trace service and can be managed in one of 2 ways. First, non-complex cases are reached either online or by a call centre. They are then asked to provide details of recent close contacts. These recent close contacts are then reached by the NHS Test and Trace service and advised to self-isolate. In regions with additional local contact-tracing teams, if the national team cannot make contact with a resident within a set period of time, then local public health officials can use the data provided by NHS Test and Trace to follow up.

Second, complex cases are escalated to local health protection teams (HPTs) who work to identify and reach recent close contacts and advise them to self-isolate.

People tested, England

Between 20 August and 26 August, 452,679 people were newly tested for coronavirus (COVID-19), a decrease of 1% from the previous week. 6,732 new people had a positive result, an increase of 6% from the previous week^{[footnote 1]}

Since Test and Trace launched at the end of May, 4,833,347 people have been tested, of which 67.2% were tested under pillar 2 (national swab testing) and 32.8% under pillar 1 (testing in hospitals and outbreak locations). The number of people tested increased from mid-June to the beginning of August but has begun to level off over the past 4 weeks. The number of people tested under pillar 1 has increased by 1% since the previous week, in comparison to people tested under pillar 2 which has decreased by 2%.

Figure 2: number of people newly tested for COVID-19 by Pillar, England

The data for the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 1.

Since Test and Trace launched at the end of May, 73,265 people newly tested positive for COVID-19.^{[footnote 2]} 79.4% of these positive cases were tested under pillar 2 in comparison to 20.6% under pillar 1.^{[footnote 3]} Between 20 August and 26 August, the number of people testing positive has risen by 6% compared with the previous week. This is the highest number of positive tests since the end of May.

Between 20 August and 26 August, the number of positive cases under pillar 1 has remained roughly the same compared with the previous week. However, there was a 6% increase in the number of positive cases under pillar 2 over the same period.

Figure 3: number of people newly testing positive for COVID-19 by pillar, England

The data for the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 1.

Pillar 1 testing turnaround times, England

Some pillar 1 tests are conducted in a hospital setting, and it is therefore not practical for those administering the tests to record the exact time that a test was taken. Therefore, the time taken to receive a coronavirus (COVID-19) test result is measured from the time that a test is received by a laboratory for processing to the time when the results are published to the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

The total tests given in figures for pillar 1 turnaround times is not the same as the number of tests processed in pillar 1 as study samples and tests from private laboratories do not report data on turnaround times. This data is only available from 9 July. More details can be found in the NHS Test and Trace statistics methodology.

Almost 9 out of 10 pillar 1 test results were made available within 24 hours of the laboratory receiving the test. This proportion has remained similar since reporting began on 9 July

Figure 4: number of pillar 1 test results by whether they were made available within 24 hours of the laboratory receiving the test, England

The data for the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 2.

Pillar 2 testing turnaround times, England

There are various routes for getting tested within pillar 2 (national swab testing). Data on the time taken to receive a COVID-19 test result for pillar 2 is split up to reflect this, as this impacts on the turnaround times.^{[footnote 4]}

These routes include:

• regional test sites, which include drive-through testing centres with limited walk-up facilities. They also include local test sites, which are similar to regional test sites but specifically for walk ups
• mobile testing units , which travel around the UK to increase access to COVID-19 testing. They respond to need, travelling to test people at specific sites including care homes, police stations and prisons
• satellite test centres, which include test kits provided directly to ‘satellite’ centres at places like hospitals or care homes that have a particularly urgent or significant need
• home test kits, which are delivered to someone’s door so they can test themselves and their family without leaving the house

Turnaround times are measured and reported in 2 ways: time taken from booking a test and from taking a test to receiving a test result. More information on these definitions is in the terminology section. Both measures are now reported as the median turnaround time, in addition to the usual turnaround time windows, such as within 24 hours. All these measures are available in full in the accompanying data tables. However, only time from taking a test is discussed below.

The total tests reported for pillar 2 turnaround times is not the same as the number of tests processed in pillar 2, as test processed is available for the UK (rather than for England only). In addition, they are reporting on the number of tests at different stages in the process. Further detail is given in the NHS Test and Trace statistics methodology.

After someone takes a test, it is transported to a laboratory for processing. There are normal fluctuations in this operational process which can sometimes cause the time taken to receive a test result to go over 24 hours, but still be turned around the next day. Where appropriate therefore we also provide the number of tests turned around the day after a test was taken.

Satellite tests are predominantly used by care homes who need greater control and flexibility over when test kits are collected. For example, tests may be conducted over multiple days with a collection scheduled a few days later. Home test kits take time to be posted to a person and be couriered back to the lab. Consequently, a low proportion of home and satellite test results will be available within 24 hours of the test being taken.

The median time taken to receive a test result after taking a test has decreased for in-person testing but increased for home and satellite testing, in the latest week

In the first month of Test and Trace, all routes saw a substantial initial reduction in the median time taken to receive a test result. However, since the start of July, the median time taken to receive a test result has seen an overall increase across all routes. During the same period the number of test results sent out has more than doubled, increasing from 337,296 to 683,528.

Between 20 August and 26 August, regional test sites and mobile testing units saw a decrease in median time taken from taking a test to receiving the results compared to the previous week. Regional test sites decreased from 27 hours to 24 hours and mobile testing units from 25 hours to 22 hours.

Home testing kits and satellite test centres both saw an increase in the median time in the latest week. Satellite test centres saw the biggest increase in median time from 65 hours to 76 hours whereas home testing kits increased from 76 hours to 86 hours.

Within the same time period there was also an increase in the number of test results sent out across satellite test centres and home testing kits, increasing by 6% and 8% respectively. In comparison, the number of in-person test results sent out remained broadly the same for regional test sites and decreased by 3% for mobile testing units

Figure 5: median time from taking a test to receiving test results by route, England

The data for the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 3.

Between 20 and 26 August the percentage of test results received within 24 hours for in person tests has increased compared to the previous week. In the same time period, the number of test results received within 48 hours for home testing kits and satellite test centres decreased

In the most recent week, for in-person tests (mobile testing units and regional test centres), 53.2% were received within 24 hours compared with 40.7% in the previous week. 11.3% of test results were received within 48 hours for home test kits and satellite test centres, an increase from 19.5% over the same time period.

For all routes combined,^{[footnote 5]} 24.3% of tests from all test sites were received within 24 hours of a test being taken compared with 20.0% in the previous week. If we consider the day the test was taken, 84.3% of in-person tests results were received the next day after the test was taken and 40.6% for all routes combined.

Table 1: percentage of results received within 24 hours (in-person tests) or within 48 hours (home or satellite tests), by route,^{[footnote 6]} England

	13 August to 19 August: percentage of tests	20 August to 26 August: percentage of tests	Since Test and Trace launched. 28 May to 26 August: percentage of tests
Regional test sites within 24 hours	36.5%	49.3%	58.7%
Mobile testing units within 24 hours	47.6%	59.9%	61.0%
Satellite test centres within 48 hours	19.3%	8.1%	36.1%
Home testing kits within 48 hours	19.9%	17.6%	42.2%

The data for the total number of tests across the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 4.

Contact Tracing in England

Once a person has a confirmed positive test result for coronavirus,^{[footnote 5]} this person is transferred to NHS Test and Trace and a case is opened for them. The number of positive cases transferred to the contact-tracing system may not always align with the number of people testing positive for COVID-19. There are several reasons for this which are outlined in the information for users document.

Positive cases transferred to NHS Test and Trace are handled in different ways depending on their complexity. Positive cases linked to potential outbreaks in specific settings are handled by PHE HPTs. These are termed ‘complex cases’, whereas those managed more generally by online and call centre capacity are termed ‘non-complex cases’. Further information is available in the NHS Test and Trace statistics methodology.

Positive cases transferred to NHS Test and Trace

The number of people transferred to the contact-tracing system in the latest week has decreased by 3% compared to the previous week.

Between 20 August and 26 August, 7,683 people were transferred to the contact-tracing system. This is a decrease of 3% compared with the week before, but more than double the number transferred at the start of July.

In the previous week (13 to 19 August), the number of people transferred to the contact-tracing system contained some people who tested positive before 13 August, but whose transfer to NHS Test and Trace was delayed due to a temporary infrastructure issue.

The number of people transferred has returned to a similar level to when Test and Trace launched at the end of May. Since the start of July there has been an overall increase in both the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 and the number of people transferred to Test and Trace.

Between 20 August and 26 August, more than 4 in every 5 people transferred to the contact-tracing system were reached and asked to provide information about their contacts

Out of the 7,683 people transferred to the contact-tracing system in the latest week, 6,257 (81.4%) were reached, 1,338 (17.4%) were not reached and 88 (1.1%) had no communication details. The proportion of people reached has increased in the latest week.

In the latest week, 321 people, who were reached and asked to provide details of close contacts, were classified as complex cases whereas 5,936 people were classified as non-complex. For more information on the different categories of cases and the outcomes of contact tracing see the terminology section.

Figure 6: number of people transferred to the contact-tracing system and number of people transferred who were reached and asked to provide details of recent close contacts (includes complex and non-complex cases), England

Table 2: people transferred to the contact-tracing system (includes complex and non-complex cases) by whether they were reached and asked to provide contact details, England^{[footnote 6]}

	13 August to 19 August: number of people (percentage)	20 August to 26 August: number of people (percentage)	Since Test and Trace launched. 28 May to 26 August: number of people (percentage)
People who were reached and asked to provide details of recent close contacts	5,970 (75.2%)	6,257 (81.4%)	57,368 (78.5%)
People classified as non-complex	5,391	5,936	49,838
People classified as complex	579	321	7,530
People who were not reached	1,892 (23.8%)	1,338 (17.4%)	13,958 (19.1%)
People whose communication details were not provided	79 (1.0%)	88 (1.1%)	1,755 (2.4%)
Total	7,941	7,683	73,081

Proportion of people transferred to the contact-tracing system who were reached by upper-tier local authority (UTLA)

Figure 7: percentage of cases reached and asked to provide details of recent close contacts by UTLA since Test and Trace began

This data is available to download as a csv on the weekly publication collection page.^{[footnote 7]}

In the latest week more than 4 in every 5 people who were reached and asked to provide information about their contacts, provided one or more close contacts

Out of the 6,257 people reached between 20 August and 26 August, 5,020 (80.2%) provided details of one or more close contacts. There has been a gradual decrease in the proportion of people providing details for one or more close contacts over the past 5 weeks. However, this has increased in the latest week.

The number who were not able to give any recent close contacts refers to people who were successfully reached by NHS Test and Trace, but either had no recent close contacts or could not provide details of close recent contacts to pass on for further contact tracing (for example, recent close contact with strangers on the bus).

In the most recent week, the median number of complex contacts provided per case was 5. This has stayed approximately constant since the end of June. For non-complex cases the median was 2. This has been approximately constant since the start of Test and Trace.

Figure 8: proportion of people transferred to the contact-tracing system (includes complex and non-complex cases) who were reached and asked to provide details of recent close contacts by whether they provided details for contacts or not, England

The data for the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 5.

For non-complex cases, most people continued to be successfully reached and asked to provide details about recent close contacts within 24 hours of their case being transferred to contact tracing

Between 20 August and 26 August, 74.1% of people (4,397) were reached within 24 hours in comparison to 67.8% in the previous week. This proportion has been declining gradually over the past 4 weeks but has increased in the latest week. Since Test and Trace launched on 28 May, 72.5% of people (36,138) have been reached within 24 hours.

Figure 9: proportion of people who were reached and asked to provide details about recent close contacts by time taken to reach them, England (excludes complex cases)

The data for the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 6.

Close contacts identified by NHS Test and Trace

The number of recent close contacts identified in the latest week has increased by 21% since the previous week but has decreased by 43% since the start of contact tracing

Between 20 August and 26 August, 31,388 people were identified as recent close contacts, of which 23,401 were non-complex and 7,987 were complex. The total number of close contacts identified has decreased by 43% since the start of contact tracing, comprised of an 82% decrease in the number of complex close contacts identified and a 132% increase in the number of non-complex contacts.

As non-complex cases have a higher proportion of contacts who are unable to be reached, this has contributed to the reduction in the overall percentage of contacts who were reached and asked to self-isolate since Test and Trace launched, from 91.1% to 69.4% in the latest week.

Considering only the contacts where communication details were provided, 80.0% were reached and asked to self-isolate in the most recent week. Since Test and Trace launched, this is 87.7%.

Figure 10: number of people identified as recent close contacts, England

The data for the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 7.

The percentage of non-complex contacts who were reached and asked to self-isolate has increased from 52.5% to 59.8% since the start of Test and Trace

Between 20 August and 26 August, 23,401 non-complex close contacts were identified of which 14,003 (59.8%) were reached and asked to self-isolate. This percentage has seen an increase since the start of contact tracing. However, it has decreased slightly from 61.6% in the previous week.

In the latest week, 5,229 (22.3%) non-complex contacts were not reached and 4,169 (17.8%) people had no communication details. For more information on the different outcomes of contact tracing see the terminology section.

Almost all complex contacts continue to be reached and asked to self-isolate

Between 20 August and 26 August, 7,987 complex close contacts were identified of which 7,770 (97.3%) were reached and asked to self-isolate and 217 (2.7%) were not reached. The proportion of complex close contacts successfully reached has remained similar to the previous week where 96.2% were reached. Since Test and Trace launched 97.6% of all complex contacts have been successfully reached.

Figure 11: proportion of contacts reached and asked to self-isolate, England

The data for the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 7.

Proportion of non-complex close contacts identified who were reached and asked to self-isolate by UTLA

Figure 12: Percentage of non-complex contacts reached and asked to provide details of recent close contacts by UTLA since Test and Trace began

This data is available to download as a csv on the weekly publication collection page.^{[footnote 8]}

In the most recent week, more than 3 out of 5 non-complex contacts were from the same household as the case they were identified from

The proportion of non-complex close contacts from the same household as the case they were identified from has been steadily declining since Test and Trace launched. However, it has increased slightly in the latest week. Between 20 August and 26 August, 61.9% of non-complex contacts were household contacts.

In the same period, 56.6% of these household contacts were successfully reached and asked to self-isolate. This is in comparison with 65.1% for non-complex contacts who were from a different household to the case from which they were identified.

It is likely that cases often advise their household members to self-isolate in advance of these contacts being directly contacted by contact tracers. This results in these contacts not being recorded as reached and asked to self-isolate, which may be a contributing factor to a lower proportion of household contacts being reached in comparison to non-household contacts.

Figure 13: proportion of recent close non-complex contacts by whether they were from the same household as the case that they were identified from, England

The data for the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 8.

For non-complex contacts who were advised to self-isolate, 4 out of 5 of them were reached within 24 hours of being identified^{[footnote 9]}

Between 20 August and 26 August, 80.0% of non-complex contacts that were advised to self-isolate were reached within 24 hours of being identified. This has fallen slightly from 81.6% the previous week. Since Test and Trace launched 81.8% of all non-complex contacts were reached and advised to self-isolate within 24 hours.

For non-complex contacts who were advised to self-isolate, 49.0% were reached within 24 hours of the case that reported them being transferred to the contact-tracing system

Between 20 August and 26 August, 6,824 (49.0%) non-complex contacts were reached and advised to self-isolate within 24 hours of the case that reported them being transferred to the contact-tracing system. This has also decreased slightly over the past 6 weeks. However, it has increased slightly in the latest week.

This measure gives a sense of the end-to-end journey time through the Test and Trace system from when an individual testing positive was reported to Test and Trace to when their close contacts were reached and advised to self-isolate.

Figure 14: proportion of recent close contacts who were advised to self-isolate within 24 hours, England

The data for the most recent weeks can be found in the annex, table 9 and table 10.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing in the UK

Statistics on coronavirus testing in the UK across all 4 testing pillars are also included in this release. This includes details on laboratory testing capacity (lab capacity), number of tests sent out and number of tests processed since the start of testing in the UK.

Definitions of the testing pillars can be found in the terminology section. Information about the government’s testing strategy testing can be found in coronavirus (COVID-19): scaling up testing programmes.

A historic timeseries of weekly lab capacity, tests sent out and tests processed is available on the collection page for this release. Daily figures for tests processed and lab capacity are available on the PHE dashboard.

This data was previous published on daily statistics on coronavirus cases in the UK. DHSC is consolidating where COVID-19 testing statistics are published to make it easier to find the latest data. This daily page will no longer be updated after Thursday 20 August. However, historic UK testing statistics and the accompanying COVID-19 testing data methodology note are still available. Statistics on tests and testing capacity will be published weekly in the NHS Test and Trace publication and will also available on the coronavirus in the UK dashboard. Statistics on positive cases will continue to be published daily on the dashboard and weekly in the NHS Test and Trace publication.

Testing capacity in the UK, pillars 1 to 4

Coronavirus tests are processed in several separate labs. Projected lab capacity is an estimate of each lab’s constrained capacity each day based on the staff, chemical reagents and other resources it has available. These estimates are made locally by the labs themselves. Further information on the methods for determining capacity is available in the COVID-19 testing data methodology note.

Testing capacity between 20 August to 26 August was 2,695,786 tests, an increase of 18% from the previous week.

Table 3: weekly lab testing capacity, pillars 1 to 4, UK^{[footnote 10]}

	13 August to 19 August: lab capacity	20 August to 26 August: lab capacity
Pillar 1	570,957	657,986
Pillar 2	866,000	1,024,000
Pillar 3	840,000	960,000
Pillar 4	12,700	53,800
UK total	2,289,657	2,695,786

Number of tests sent out in the UK, pillar 2 and pillar 4

Tests can be administered in different ways:

• tests taken at a hospital
• mobile testing unit
• regional testing sites
• tests sent out to individuals at home or satellite locations

Tests sent out are only available as part of pillar 2 (antigen testing) and pillar 4 (antigen and antibody testing). Not all tests sent out will be returned.

It is not currently possible to compare the total number of tests sent out with the total number of tests processed in pillar 2 and pillar 4, as given in table 7. This is because tests sent out includes only tests sent to individuals at home or to satellite testing locations, while tests processed includes all tests that have remained within the control of the programme (and were counted at the time at which processed in labs) and those that have been sent out and subsequently returned to be processed in a lab. Further information is available in the COVID-19 testing data methodology note.

1,170,658 tests were sent out across the UK within pillars 2 and 4 between 20 August and 26 August. This has increased by 41% since the previous week.

Table 4: number of tests sent out, pillars 2 and 4, UK

	13 August to 19 August: number of tests	20 August to 26 August: number of tests	Total since data collection began: number of tests
Pillar 2	816,728	971,226	8,462,885
Pillar 4	13,259	199,432	1,227,811
UK total	829,987	1,170,658	9,690,696

Number of tests processed in the UK, pillars 1 to 4

The number of tests processed counts all tests that have remained within the control of the programme (and were counted at the time at which processed in labs) and those that have been sent out and subsequently returned to be processed in a laboratory. They are counted at the time at which they were processed. This measure shows how many tests have been processed, including both antigen testing (pillar 1, pillar 2 and partial pillar 4) and antibody testing (pillars 3 and 4). Further details are available in the COVID-19 testing data methodology note.

For pillars 1 and 2, the number of tests processed in a laboratory is different to the number of test results received which is reported as part of the Test and Trace testing turnaround times for England. This is because they are reporting on the number of tests at different stages in the process as well as reporting different geographies (UK and England) and because some tests are excluded from the turnaround time counts.

Between 20 August and 26 August, 1,448,784 tests were processed in total across pillars 1 to 4, an increase of 21% since the previous week.

Table 5: number of tests processed, pillars 1 to 4, UK ^{[footnote 10]}

	13 August to 19 August: number of tests	20 August to 26 August: number of tests	Total since data collection began: number of tests
Pillar 1	365,574	424,442	5,672,807
Pillar 2	760,604	893,021	7,774,761
Pillar 3	32,097	39,259	1,517,976
Pillar 4	39,430	92,062	1,307,665
UK total	1,197,705	1,448,784	16,273,209

Terminology

Testing

Pillar 1 testing: swab (antigen) testing in PHE labs, NHS hospitals for those with a clinical need, and health and care workers.

Pillar 2 testing: swab (antigen) testing for the wider population, through commercial partnerships,^{[footnote 11]}, carried out through several different routes:

• regional test sites, which include drive-through testing centres with limited walk-up facilities. These also include local test sites, which are similar to regional test sites but specifically for walk ups
• mobile testing units, which travel around the UK to increase access to COVID-19 testing. They respond to need, travelling to test people at specific sites including care homes, police stations and prisons
• satellite test centres, which include test kits provided directly to ‘satellite’ centres at places like hospitals or care homes that have a particularly urgent or significant need
• home test kits, which are delivered to someone’s door so they can test themselves and their family without leaving the house

Pillar 3 testing: serology testing to show if people have antibodies from having had coronavirus.

Pillar 4 testing: blood and swab testing for national surveillance support by PHE, the ONS and research, academic and scientific partners to learn more about the prevalence and spread of the virus and for other testing research purposes.

People tested: refers to people who have newly been tested for COVID-19 and does not re-count people who have been tested more than once in either pillar 1 or pillar 2.

People testing positive: refers only to people who have newly tested positive for COVID-19 and does not include people who have had more than one positive test.

For pillar 2, there are 2 measures of the time taken to receive a coronavirus (COVID-19) test result:

• The time taken to receive a COVID-19 test result from time of booking is measured from the time that a person books an appointment on the website to the time when the person receives a notification of their test result via an email or an SMS. This data is only available for regional test sites and mobile testing units, as test booking and registration processes for home testing and satellite test centres are currently undertaken on different systems.
• The time taken to receive a COVID-19 test result from time of test is measured from the time a person completes a test registration (or the time a person indicates their test was taken for home testing kits) until the time that they receive a notification of the result of their test via an email or an SMS.

Tracing

NHS Test and Trace has 2 ways of handling cases depending on their complexity:

Complex cases and contacts

PHE local HPTs manage cases linked to outbreaks. Examples include someone who works or has recently visited:

• a health or care setting, such as a hospital or care home
• a prison or other secure setting
• a school for people with special needs
• critical national infrastructure or areas vital for national security

Non-complex cases and contacts

Wider online and other call centre capacity for less complex cases.

When a case is transferred to NHS Test and Trace, contact tracers will attempt to contact the individual which results in one the following 3 outcomes:

1. Reached and provided information about recent close contacts: contact tracers successfully reached the individual and asked them to provide details for recent close contacts.
2. No communication details provided: people who had no communication details provided are those who were transferred to NHS Test and Trace but did not have any associated contact details (for example, phone number or email address).
3. Not reached: the number of people who were not reached includes those people who the service has been unable to reach because there has been no response to text, email and call reminders. It also includes people who were reached but declined to give details of close contacts. There may also be a small number of people who have not been reached but where contact tracers are still in the process of trying to make contact.

Measuring the data

How the data were collected

UK-level testing data is collated centrally by DHSC from multiple sources across the different nations and pillars. Further details can be found in the COVID-19 testing data methodology note.

Testing data for pillars 1 and 2 for England are provided by PHE, NHS and commercial partners. Contact-tracing data are collected from management information from the NHS Test and Trace service. Details about the data sources used can be found in the NHS Test and Trace statistics methodology document.

Future development

We have integrated these data with those from other parts of NHS Test and Trace, particularly testing, to provide an end-to-end view of the service that follows the user journey. So far, UK-level testing data, testing data for pillars 1 and 2 in England and their turnaround times have been added. Further breakdowns for contact tracing continue to be incorporated, including complex and non-complex breakdowns, geographical breakdowns and household information.

To support user needs and data transparency, additional releases have been published alongside the weekly Test and Trace publication including care home statistics up to 8 July, people tested for coronavirus (COVID-19) between 30 January and 27 May and weekly UK testing statistics since the start of testing. NHS Test and Trace continues to provide information for local authorities and their partners so that they have the information they need to help contain any outbreaks.

In time, NHS Test and Trace intends to publish detailed data from across the program to support secondary analysis, for example in academic institutions. Over the coming months, we intend to make the following available:

Expected from September 2020:

• details of close contacts who go on to test positive
• high-level UK Test and Trace figures

The UK Statistical Authority has published a rapid review of the Test and Trace statistics. This includes recommendations on how the publication should develop it order to adhere fully to the Code of Practice. These recommendations continue to influence the development of the publication in the coming weeks and months.

Strengths and limitations

Given the importance of this service and the commitment of NHS Test and Trace to be open and transparent with the public it serves, these data are being released at the earliest possible opportunity. However, new IT systems and statistical outputs often take a period of time to bed in. These data should therefore be treated with caution as the system and understanding of the data develops.

Quality

These statistics have been put together by NHS Test and Trace and DHSC with advice from the ONS.

Revisions to figures previous published

Figures for people tested and people testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) in previous releases have been revised. These revisions are because:

• there are sometimes delays in laboratories submitting data to PHE
• auality checks are conducted on the data to refine figures over time

Figures for pillar 2 testing turnaround times in previous releases have been revised. These revisions are because:

• there has been a change in methodology for how the location of home tests and satellite tests is assigned. The new methodology uses the individuals home address instead of the address of the laboratory. This has resulted in an increase in the number of tests in England as a large number of tests from England were being processed in laboratories outside of England
• the figures presented are based on a data-cut several days after the end of the reporting period. Some tests may continue to be being processed after this period and therefore data may need to be revised over time

Figures for contact tracing in previous releases have been revised. These revisions are because:

• the figures presented are based on a data cut several days after the end of the reporting period, to give time for cases reported towards the end of the 7-day period to have an outcome. Some cases may continue to be in progress after this period, and therefore data may need to be revised over time
• typically, one week after initial publication the number of cases reached and consequently the number of contacts identified is expected to increase. Similarly, the number of cases and contacts reached within 72 hours is likely to increase

Cumulative figures for coronavirus (COVID-19) testing in the UK have been revised. These revisions are because:

• for tests processed and tests sent out, weekly totals reflect the sum of actual daily counts reported for the previous week. Each week there may be corrections to previously reported figures, for example, where labs (or studies under pillar 4) returned the results late or duplicates were identified and removed. These corrections are reflected in the cumulative figures. This means that previously published weekly counts will not necessarily sum to the latest cumulative figure. It also means that the latest cumulative count may not match the previous week’s cumulative count plus this week’s weekly count
• historic data for tests sent out in pillar 2 has been revised due to more accurate data collection and reporting processes being adopted. Tests which were sent out on behalf of another channel were identified and consequently more tests have been sent to NHS trusts and care homes than originally reported

More information on quality and how this publication adheres to the Code of Practice for statistics is available in the statement of compliance.

Feedback

For questions about the release please refer to the information for users document initially. For feedback and any further questions, please contact statistics@dhsc.gov.uk.

Annex A: tables

Annex table 1: people newly tested for COVID-19 under pillars 1 and 2, England

	13 August to 19 August: number of people	20 August to 26 August: number of people	Since Test and Trace launched. 28 May to 26 August: number of people
Pillar 1	134,344	135,770	1,585,643
Tested positive	612	610	15,058
Pillar 2	324,489	316,909	3,247,704
Tested positive	5,755	6,122	58,207
Total	458,833	452,679	4,833,347
Tested positive	6,367	6,732	73,265

Annex table 2: time taken from receipt of the test by a laboratory to the time the result is published, pillar 1, England

	13 August to 19 August: number of tests (percentage)	20 August to 26 August: number of tests (percentage)	9 July to 26 August: number of tests (percentage)
Total tests conducted in pillar 1	302,788	302,358	2,014,447
Number of tests completed within 24 hours turnaround	269,216 (88.9%)	269,288 (89.1%)	1,797,726 (89.2%)
Number of tests exceeding 24 hours turnaround	33,572 (11.1%)	33,070 (10.9%)	216,721 (10.8%)

Annex table 3: median time from taking a test to receiving test results, pillar 2 by route, England

	13 August to 19 August: median time (hours)	20 August to 26 August: median time (hours)	Total since Test and Trace launched. 28 May to 26 August: median time (hours)
Regional test sites	27	24	23
Mobile testing units	25	22	21
Satellite test centres	65	76	56
Home testing kits	76	86	52

Annex table 4: total number of tests in pillar 2,^{[footnote 12]} by route, England

	13 August to 19 August: number of tests	20 August to 26 August: number of tests	Since Test and Trace launched: 28 May to 26 August: number of tests
Regional test sites	190,535	189,934	1,585,259
Mobile testing units	115,253	111,336	955,610
Satellite test centres	240,447	254,174	1,705,521
Home testing kits	118,123	128,084	1,171,937

Annex table 5: people transferred to the contact-tracing system who were reached and asked to provide details of recent close contacts, by whether they provided details for contacts or not, England (includes both complex and non-complex cases)

	13 August to 19 August: number of people (percentage)	20 August to 26 August: number of people (percentage)	Since Test and Trace launched. 28 May to 26 August: number of people (percentage)
People who provided details of one or more close contacts	4,496 (75.3%)	5,020 (80.2%)	42,182 (73.5%)
People who were not able to give any recent close contacts	1,474 (24.7%)	1,237 (19.8%)	15,186 (26.5%)
Total	5,970	6,257	57,368

Annex table 6: people who were reached and asked to provide details about recent close contacts by time taken from case being transferred, England (excludes complex cases)

	13 August to 19 August: number of people (percentage)	20 August to 26 August: number of people (percentage)	Since Test and Trace launched. 28 May to 26 August: number of people (percentage)
Within 24 hours	3,653 (67.8%)	4,397 (74.1%)	36,138 (72.5%)
Between 24 and 48 hours	1,040 (19.3%)	1,116 (18.8%)	9,329 (18.7%)
Between 48 and 72 hours	298 (5.5%)	167 (2.8%)	2,105 (4.2%)
After 72 hours	400 (7.4%)	256 (4.3%)	2,266 (4.5%)
Total	5,391	5,936	49,838

Annex table 7: number of people identified as recent close contacts by whether they were reached and asked to self-isolate, England (includes both complex and non-complex contacts)

	13 August to 19 August: number of people (percentage)	20 August to 26 August: number of people (percentage)	Since Test and Trace launched. 28 May to 26 August: number of people (percentage)
Total number of close contacts identified	25,875	31,388	339,635
Close contacts reached and asked to self-isolate	19,954 (77.1%)	21,773 (69.4%)	270,559 (79.7%)
Close contacts not reached	5,921 (22.9%)	9,615 (30.6%)	69,076 (20.3%)
Total number of non-complex close contacts	14,271	23,401	153,107
Close contacts reached and asked to self-isolate	8,789 (61.6%)	14,003 (59.8%)	88,529 (57.8%)
Close contacts not reached	2,961 (20.7%)	5,229 (22.3%)	33,598 (21.9%)
Communication details not provided	2,521 (17.7%)	4,169 (17.8%)	30,980 (20.2%)
Total number of complex close contacts	11,604	7,987	186,528
Close contacts reached and asked to self-isolate	11,165 (96.2%)	7,770 (97.3%)	182,030 (97.6%)
Close contacts not reached	439 (3.8%)	217 (2.7%)	4,498 (2.4%)

Annex table 8: number of recent close non-complex contacts by whether they were from the same household as the case that they were identified from, England

	13 August to 19 August: number of people (percentage)	20 August to 26 August: number of people (percentage)	Since Test and Trace launched. 28 May to 26 August: number of people (percentage)
Total number non-complex household contacts	8,497	14,486	102,200
Close contacts reached and asked to self-isolate	5,001 (58.9%)	8,199 (56.6%)	55,768 (54.6%)
Close contacts not reached	3,496 (41.1%)	6,287 (43.4%)	46,432 (45.4%)
Total number non-complex not household contacts	5,774	8,915	50,907
Close contacts reached and asked to self-isolate	3,788 (65.6%)	5,804 (65.1%)	32,761 (64.4%)
Close contacts not reached	1,986 (34.4%)	3,111 (34.9%)	18,146 (35.6%)

Annex table 9: number of close contacts who were advised to self-isolate by time taken to reach them England (excludes complex contacts)

	13 August to 19 August: number of people (percentage)	20 August to 26 August: number of people (percentage)	Since Test and Trace launched. 28 May to 26 August: number of people (percentage)
Within 24 hours	7,168 (81.6%)	11,194 (80.0%)	72,329 (81.8%)
Between 24 and 48 hours	1,271 (14.5%)	2,149 (15.4%)	12,489 (14.1%)
Between 48 and 72 hours	253 (2.9%)	491 (3.5%)	2,528 (2.9%)
After 72 hours	96 (1.1%)	166 (1.2%)	1,108 (1.3%)
Total	8,788	14,000	88,454

Annex table 10: number of close contacts who were advised to self-isolate by time taken from the case that reports them being transferred to the contact-tracing system England (excludes complex contacts)^{[footnote 13]}

	13 August to 19 August: number of people (percentage)	20 August to 26 August: number of people (percentage)	Since Test and Trace launched. 28 May to 26 August: number of people (percentage)
Within 24 hours	4,069 (47.4%)	6,842 (49.0%)	46,030 (52.4%)
Between 24 and 48 hours	2,423 (28.2%)	3,995 (28.6%)	25,085 (28.6%)
Between 48 and 72 hours	1,106 (12.9%)	1,516 (10.9%)	9,376 (10.7%)
After 72 hours	980 (11.4%)	1,618 (11.6%)	7,327 (8.3%)
Total	8,578	13,971	87,818

1. For information on how people newly tested and newly testing positive is measured see the NHS Test and Trace statistics methodology. ↩ ↩²

2. Includes a small number of people who had a test under pillar 4 (serology and swab testing for national surveillance). ↩

3. Note that these figures may not always align with other published figures for people tested and people tested positive for COVID-19 under pillars 1 and 2 due to the timing of data cuts. ↩

4. For all measures of time taken to receive a COVID-19 test result, there are a number of tests that were not completed. This covers any test where the results were not communicated, which may be because communication details (for example, phone number or email address) were not provided or were incorrect, or because the test was cancelled or abandoned, or no result was available. It also includes some tests which are still being processed. ↩

5. All positive test results under pillar 1 and pillar 2 should be transferred. In addition, all positive swab test results as part of prevalence studies (pillar 4) are also transferred to Test and Trace. People tested under pillar 3 (serology testing to show if people have antibodies from having had COVID-19) do not have their cases transferred to NHS Test and Trace. ↩ ↩²

6. If NHS Test and Trace is not able to reach an individual testing positive or if no communication details are available, then it is not always possible to know if the case is complex or non-complex. Therefore, these breakdowns are not available. ↩ ↩²

7. The regional data uses a different data cut to the main publication therefore cumulative totals will not exactly match. ↩

8. The regional data uses a different data cut to the main publication therefore cumulative totals will not exactly match. ↩

9. Timing data does not include non-complex contacts which were subsequently escalated to complex. ↩

10. Pillar 3 figures are for England only. ↩ ↩²

11. See more detail in scaling up our testing programmes. ↩

12. Please note the number of tests sent out is not the same as the number of people tested, because people may be tested more than once. ↩

13. This information is only available for non-complex contacts, although there are a small number of non-complex contacts where the time that their positive case was transferred is not available. ↩