Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
www.gov.uk/dhsc 39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
Martijn van der Voort
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx 07/09/2021
Dear Mr van der Voort,
Freedom of Information Request Reference FOI-1353476
Thank you for your request dated 8 August, in which you asked the Department of Health and
Social Care (DHSC):
“Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Available answers do not cover my request. I hereby officially request under FOI act that you
release to me the following:
Parameters
- Starting 01/01/2021 to 01/08/2021
- Number of Day 2 & Day 8 PCR covid tests taken - to be distinguished in separate columns or
graphs
- Number of these that tested positive on Day 2 & Day 8 tests - to be distinguished in separate
columns or graphs
- Percentage of positives projected against total tests
- Which variant they tested positive for - - to be distinguished in separate columns or graphs
- England only
- The reasoning for these tests to still be applied
Yours faithfully,
Martijn van der Voort”
Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
DHSC holds some of the information relevant to your request. However, as the information held by
the Department is in the public domain we will, under Section 21 of the FOIA (information accessible
to the applicant by other means), refer you to the published source.
The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) publish data as part of the weekly test and trace statistics. The
information is published every 3-weeks to align with international risk assessments. Following this
link to Table 21 in the data tables
, Weekly statistics for NHS Test and Trace (England): 19 August
to 25 August 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), shows data taken from the latest weekly data table, by
month in 2021, broken down by country, for the number of arrivals into England who have been
tested for COVID-19, as well as those who have tested positive (along with traveller positivity). This
publication considers overall traveller positivity and does not separate between day 2 and day 8
tests. The data published here also includes sequencing data, but it is aggregated rather than split
by variant.
If you are not satisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to appeal by asking for
an internal review. This should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter and sent to
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or to the address at the top of this letter.
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communication.
If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may complain directly to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you
have already appealed our original response and received our internal review decision. You should
raise your concerns with the ICO within three months of your last meaningful contact with us.
The ICO can be contacted at:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ Yours sincerely,
Ruiz Alexander
Freedom of Information Officer
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx