English weekly COVID cases up 8%, contacts traced still at record lows

A man walks past a sign displaying the measures imposed by the government against the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on the first day of a newly imposed lockdown, in London, Britain, November 5, 2020. REUTERS/John Sibley

Positive COVID-19 cases in England are up 8% on the previous week, the country's test and trace scheme said on Thursday, slower that the previous week's 23% rise, but the proportion of contacts of the cases reached stayed near record lows.

Of the 327,203 people identified as coming into close contact with someone who had tested positive between Oct 22 and 28, 59.9% were reached and asked to self-isolate, little changed from the record low proportion of 59.6% reported two weeks ago.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout, Editing by Paul Sandle)