THOUSANDS of Scots who have tested positive for Covid-19 have not been spoken to by tracers while swathes of contacts have been unable to be identified.

New figures revealed that more than 3,500 people who received positive coronavirus results have not interacted with contact tracers while more than 9,000 contacts of those with the virus were unable to be traced.

The statistics came to light after health officials over-estimated the number of people contacted within 24 hours of testing positive for Covid-19 – put down to a “coding error” by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Now the Scottish Government has said there are a “small minority of cases it has not been possible to reach” adding that these people have not responded to “repeated attempts by the contact tracing service”.

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Public Health Scotland figures show that since June 22 a total of 3,512 individuals with a positive test were unable to be contacted by staff from the Test and Protect system.

The report said this was six per cent of those who had tested positive, describing it as a “very small proportion” of the number of cases.

There were a further 9,252 contacts of coronavirus patients were unable to be reached since June 22 – representing four per cent of this group.

Scottish Labour health spokesperson, Monica Lennon, has called for the First Minister and Health Secretary Jeane Freeman to rectify the situation.

She said: “It is horrifying that Test and Protect have failed to contact thousands of people who tested positive for Covid-19.

“This is terrifying, and also means that thousands of close contacts who should have been told to self-isolate remained at large in the community.”

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Ms Lennon added: “It’s not good enough for SNP Ministers to say people are not answering the phone. This could be due to illness or other misfortunes. Surely we have the resources to do home visits?

“It’s reckless that the Scottish Government has allowed this to happen and Parliament must be given a full explanation.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “It is vital people engage with contact tracing teams whether they have been tested for Covid-19 or are identified as a contact.

“Anyone taking a test will be asked to provide their name and a contact phone number.

“Contact tracers will call and text this number three times over 24 hours and, if not reached, a message is left to call the contact tracing service back.

“In a small minority of cases it has not been possible to reach individuals who do not respond, despite repeated attempts by the contact tracing service.”

The spokeswoman added: “Our contact tracers have successfully interviewed 94 per cent of people who have tested positive for coronavirus.

“In the week from November 2 to November 8, Test and Protect completed 95.8 per cent of cases within 72 hours – far exceeding the World Health Organization standard of 80 per cent.”