NHS Test and Trace has announced that 93.8 per cent of in-person test results are being returned the next day after the test was taken, compared with 84.8 per cent the week before.

The Department of Health and Social Care says that turnaround times have now reduced to similar lengths of time seen at the beginning of December, following the increase over the festive period.

Not only are people able to receive a test result more quickly and conveniently, but the government says that the service has seen another record-breaking week in which the service reached 93.2 per cent of contacts – the highest since Test and Trace was launched.

As NHS Test and Trace’s test site network continues to expand, with more than 800 test sites in operation, including 448 local test sites, people are travelling a shorter distance than ever before to get a test. The median distance travelled for a test is just 2.1 miles, the lowest since the service was launched, compared to 5.1 miles as recently as September.

Alongside improving turnaround times for tests, testing capacity has also increased, with a fleet of 500 new and improved mobile testing units hitting the streets earlier this month. The new vehicles offer twice the daily testing capacity of the original model, with the ability to store 1,000 test kits compared to the original’s capacity of 500.

Baroness Dido Harding, the interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, said: “Every week of 2021 we have seen a new record broken by NHS Test and Trace. This reporting week, 93.2 per cent of contacts of those who tested positive for coronavirus have been successfully reached, a testament to the service’s performance levels and a continuation of the programme’s strong start to the year.

“It is fantastic to see so many local tracing partnerships now underway and reaching 300 is a significant achievement. These partnerships give us better insights on where transmission of infection is occurring and increase the number of cases we are able to contact-trace. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone involved in the national and local teams across the country who are working non-stop to help us combat the spread of the virus.”