Test and Trace – it’s everyone’s responsibility

Published Wednesday, 19th August 2020

Hospitality businesses and their customers have equal responsibility to ensure that the Government’s COVID-19 Test and Trace system is effective, say council officials in Hartlepool.

They are calling on cafes, bars and restaurants to ensure they have robust procedures in place to accurately collect data about customers.

And where such procedures are not in place customers are encouraged to proactively request that businesses record their details.

This, says the Council, will result in a far more effective response to any cases of COVID-19 that subsequently occur.

Craig Blundred, Hartlepool Borough Council’s Acting Director of Public Health, said: “In the event of a case of COVID-19, it is vital that we know the recent movements of the person in question so that we can quickly identify and isolate others who they may have been in close contact with.”

As part of a North-East initiative, the Council’s Public Protection Department is currently proactively contacting local businesses to provide advice around COVID-19 measures and early outbreak management, including the Test and Trace system.

In respect of Test and Trace, businesses are asked to collect the following information:

  • The names of all employees.
  • A contact telephone number for each employee.
  • The dates and times that staff are at work.
  • The name of a customer or visitor – if there is more than one person then the details of a “lead member” can be recorded along with the number of people in the group.
  • A contact telephone number for each customer/visitor or for the “lead member” of a group.
  • The date of their visit, arrival time and, where possible, departure time.
  • The number of the table they sat at and their location within the premises.
  • If a customer will interact with only one member of staff (eg a waiter) then the name of that assigned staff member should be recorded alongside the name of the customer.

Customers/visitors are urged to co-operate with businesses and ensure they provide their details via the recording system that is in use.

All records should be held for 21 days, which takes into account the incubation period of COVID-19 (up to 14 days) and an additional7 days to allow time for testing and tracing. After 21 days, information should be securely disposed of/deleted.

Businesses seeking more information or clarification in respect of Government guidance can contact the Council’s Public Protection Team on (01429) 284024 or public.protection@hartlepool.gov.uk