A NEW tracing service will be launched by BCP Council to help Public Health England and the NHS trace residents across the conurbation who have tested positive for Covid-19.

Following the receipt of a positive Covid-19 test result, a person is asked to complete a contact tracing form in order to find out more about their illness, recent activities and people they’ve been in close contact with whilst they were potentially infectious.

If this is not returned within eight hours, the NHS test and trace team will attempt to call.

After a 24-hour period, if the NHS test and trace team have been unable to contact an individual, they will hand over their contact details to BCP Council’s contact tracing team.

Any Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole residents who have recently tested positive for the virus who have not spoken with NHS test and trace can expect a call from the council’s team.

The call will come from the dedicated phone number, 01202 123987, and residents can be assured the call is genuine and staff will clearly explain the purpose of the call.

Councillor Nicola Greene, portfolio holder for Covid resilience, schools and skills, said: “By offering this service locally, we hope to contact more individuals who have tested positive with Covid-19 for test and trace purposes to help stop the spread of the virus and reduce the infection rate.

“We will also be able to check on any individuals we contact to see if they need any support whilst they are self-isolating and offer help through our community response service, together we can.

“We urge residents who have received a positive Covid-19 test result to follow the guidelines on self-isolating and engage with contact tracing services in order to help protect our community.”

In order to prevent teams making numerous attempts to contact somebody, the council encouraged residents to fill in the form received via text or email following a positive test result as soon as possible.

For more information on what to do if you receive a positive test result, please visit the NHS website: nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/what-your-test-result-means/