So this bad news isn’t the result of anyone having disobeyed rules, although a test registration card was left incomplete. Rules were introduced slowly and are overly lax, with too many exemptions (both in terms of occupational groups and countries of origin). But equally, as the rules around mixing are relaxed, there is every chance that new variants may emerge here. The outsourced test-and-trace system overseen by Dido Harding was the weakest element in the UK’s initial pandemic response. Now, a person infected with P1 is being searched for because a test result form was left blank.

Source: The Guardian March 01, 2021 19:19 UTC