Scottish Labour has called on the Scottish Government to make significant improvements in the delivery of its contact tracing system, as new figures this week revealed that at least a quarter of cases are taking over 48 hours to be interviewed.

Since the end of December, between 23.8 per cent and 57.2 per cent of weekly Test and Protect cases were taking over 48 hours between the test and an interview being completed. The slow performance comes on the back of recent reports that show fewer than half of those using NHS Scotland’s Covid app who tested positive entered the code to alert other users that they should isolate.

Scottish Labour has said that too many issues still remain with the delivery of Test and Protect and that improvements must be made urgently.

Scottish Labour interim leader Jackie Baillie said: “The Scottish Government has had months to get Test and Protect fully operational but it is clear there is room for improvement in its delivery.

“The SNP cannot afford to become complacent at this crucial stage or allow the system to stall. With the new Covid variant it is more imperative than ever that cases are identified and interviewed quickly if we are to control the spread of the virus.

“Test turnaround times must be improved and efforts made to cut the time it takes for contact tracers to access the details of positive cases. Too many people are still falling through the cracks.

“All eyes might be on problems around the vaccine rollout but the SNP government can’t afford to drop the ball when it comes to Test and Protect.”