READING has seen its Covid contact tracing rate fall once again, figures from this month reveal.

Shadow health minister Justin Madders recently said the heavily-criticised Test and Trace system is "falling apart", as he echoed calls for a circuit breaker lockdown amid another surge in positive cases.

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Data from the Department for Health and Social care shows 351 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Reading were transferred to the Test and Trace service between May 28 and October 7.

The service asks these patients to give details for anyone they were in close contact with in the 48 hours before their symptoms started.

In Reading, 772 close contacts were identified – also referred to as "non-complex" cases, meaning they could be dealt with through a call centre or online.

But just 67.1 per cent were reached by contact tracers over the period – down slightly from 67.6 per cent up to September 30, and 68.4 per cent to September 23.

Across England, 57.6 per cent of non-complex close contacts were reached and told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace in the latest week to October 7.

Including complex cases – those linked to settings such as hospitals, schools or prisons – the contact tracing rate was 62.6 per cent, the lowest percentage since test and trace began.

Mr Madders said: "It is absolutely staggering that week upon week the performance of test and trace keeps getting worse and worse.

"Surely ministers must see that the system is falling apart and what was supposed to be world beating is in fact now one of the biggest obstacles to us getting on top of the virus.

"The need for a circuit break is absolutely critical now and that time should be used to fix test and trace once and for all."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock defended the test and trace system, telling MPs that it has allowed for a "detailed picture" of where and how the virus is spreading.

The latest figures (October 21) show that the number of recorded coronavirus cases in Reading increased by 13 over the last 24 hours.

Public Health England data reveals that 1,299 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Tuesday (October 20) in Reading, up from 1,286 the same time on Monday.

The rate of infection in Reading now stands at 803 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 1,150.

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Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 21,330 over the period, to 762,542.

​Reading's cases were among the 59,194 recorded across the South East, a figure which rose by 990 over the period.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.