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People asked to self-isolate will not be told name of informant amid fears of reprisals

Baroness Dido Harding attending a remote press conference to update the nation on the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic - AFP
Baroness Dido Harding attending a remote press conference to update the nation on the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic - AFP
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter ..
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter ..

People asked to self-isolate will not be told the name of the person who handed over their information, amid fears of anger and reprisals, it has emerged.

Call handlers for the NHS Test and Trace have been issued with guidance about how to deal with abusive callers, and how to deal with those being given information they do not want to hear.

Health officials said those who are contacted by test and trace will be informed that they have been identified as a “significant contact” of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.

Although many of those being contacted will already know the identify of this person who has fallen ill, health officials said call handlers would never hand over this information.

Spending more than 15 minutes within two metres of someone, having face-to-face contact of less than one metre for any time, or sharing a car with someone counts as close contact.

Those with possible symptoms of coronavirus are being advised that they may wish to alert close contacts that they are waiting for a test result.

During this time, such contacts are advised to take extra care practicising social distancing and good hygiene, although they are not told to self-isolate.

However, if those with Covid-19 do not tell close contacts that they have received the diagnosis, contact tracers have been told that such information must not be passed on.

Call handlers are braced for cross-examination by members of the public, including those who are angry and fear losing income if they take two weeks off work. A script provided to call handlers advises them to “stay calm”.

“Remember: sometimes callers are abusive not because of how you have dealt with them, but because of matters beyond your control or because of the information you have given them is not what they want to hear,” it states.

Call handlers are advised to be polite, and to try saying: “I can hear that you are angry/frustrated/sad and I am trying my best to help you”.

Staff are also advised to give callers time to talk, ensure they get clear information and to recognise their feelings. The guidance also reminds staff that they do not have to put with personal abuse.

Michael Veale, lecturer in digital rights and regulation at University College London, said people's names could be given maliciously as being a contact of someone who has a confirmed positive test.

"It is a real possibility and you have to have trust that people will not do that," he said. "The concern is that if that happens to some people then everyone might start to doubt whether or not their instruction to isolate was valid or not. What is it that would eat at people's adherence to the rules? Hearing stories of people being maliciously targeted would do that  - even as a prank."

Prof Isabel Oliver, Interim Director of the National Infection Service, Public Health England (PHE) said she hoped the public would play their part and respond quickly to any calls to isolate.

"I understand it is a difficult time for many people, but if they do not follow the advice the number of infections will rise," she said

On Thursday, PHE revealed that track and trace data on patients would be held by the NHS for up to 20 years.

The information would include people’s full name, date of birth, sex, postcode and house number, phone and email address as well as any Covid-19 symptoms they had.

PHE said: “The information needs to be kept for this long as maybe needed to help control the spread of coronavirus, both currently and possibly in the future.

“It is held on PHE’s secure cloud environment, which is kept up to date to protect it from viruses and hacking. It can only be seen by those who have a specific and legitimate role in the response and who are working on the NHS Test and Trace.”