A contact from Test and Trace taking off? (5)
I believe the answer is:
aping
'taking off?' is the definition.
(both can mean imitating or mocking)
'a contact from test and trace' is the wordplay.
'contact from test and trace' becomes 'ping' (as in test and trace apps).
'a'+'ping'='APING'
(Other definitions for aping that I've seen before include "Imitation" , "Acting like a parrot" , "Parroting" , "Making copy of" , "Taking off" .)