A third of NHS contact tracers will be laid off within weeks with remaining call handlers redeployed to local authorities amid ongoing difficulties for Boris Johnson's "world beating" scheme.
The Government said it was reducing the number of national contact tracers in England from 18,000 to 12,000 over the next two weeks, in a major overhaul of efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
Non-NHS call handlers will work alongside local public health officials under the new plans. If national teams cannot contact someone, local public health officials will be able to go and knock on their doors.
Labour welcomed moves to give more support to local authorities but said problems tackling local outbreaks proved the Prime Minister's boast of a
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