More than a third of close contacts of people with coronavirus are still not being reached by the test and trace system in Gloucestershire, amid a record number of new positive cases.

Data from the Department for Health and Social care shows 5,327 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Gloucestershire were transferred to the Test and Trace service between May 28 and November 18.

That means 1,307 new cases were transferred in the latest seven-day period – the largest increase since the regime began.

Contact tracers ask new patients to give details for anyone they were in close contact with in the 48 hours before their symptoms started.

This led to 12,712 close contacts being identified over the period – those not managed by local health protection teams, which are dealt with through a call centre or online.

But just 64.6 per cent of those were reached, meaning 4,496 people were not contacted or did not respond.

That was slightly up from the 64.1 per cent reached in the period to November 11.

Across England, 58.8 per cent of contacts not managed by local health protection teams were reached and told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace in the latest week to November 18.

Local health protection teams deal with cases linked to settings such as hospitals, schools and prisons.

The contact tracing rate including these cases was 60.3 per cent – up slightly from the week before when it was 60.7 per cent.

Around 157,000 new cases were transferred nationally in the week to November 18, the highest weekly number since NHS Test and Trace was launched.