LOCAL health protection teams continue to be more successful than call centre workers at reaching close contacts of people who have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the latest data.

Test and Trace figures from the Department of Health show that, for cases handled by local teams, 98 per cent of close contacts of people who tested positive for Covid-19 had been reached and asked to self-isolate.

By contrast, for those cases handled either online or by call centres, 56 per cent of close contacts have been reached and asked to self-isolate.

NHS Test and Trace has two ways of handling cases depending on their complexity.

Public Health England local health protection teams manage so-called "complex" cases linked to outbreaks, with examples including someone who works or has recently visited a hospital, care home, prison or school for people with special needs.

And for other cases, referred to as so-called "non-complex" cases, these are reached either online or by call centre.

The figures were published amid concerns about the effectiveness of the operation, with experts warning that the NHS Test and Trace system must rapidly improve to cope with the pressures expected once schools fully return in September and as winter approaches.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson repeated his claim on Thursday (August 6) that the system was "world-beating".

In the first week, for cases handled by local teams, 99.7 per cent of close contacts of people who tested positive for the virus were reached and asked to self-isolate, while for cases handled either online or by call centres the figure was 52.5 per cent.

Reports have suggested some contact tracers working for the Test and Trace programme are making just a handful of calls a month.

Some councils have taken matters into their own hands launching local contact-tracing operations.