Government adviser says Test and Trace app usage “at all-time high”
A Test and Trace adviser to the government has dismissed suggestions that people are deleting the app and instead said usage is at an “all-time high”.
Epidemiologist professor Christophe Fraser, who advised the Department of Health on the programme, squashed suggestions that people were deleting the app because they were getting “pinged” too often as coronavirus cases rise in the UK.
“About 50 per cent of all test results nationally go through the app,” Fraser told Times Radio.
“The team monitors the usage of the app and at this point in time the usage is at an all-time high.”
It comes as business leaders called for a revision of the current Test and Trace system for when people come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, amid widespread staff absences due to people being “pinged”.
Fraser defended the app’s purpose, saying that surveys showed the main reason people use it is “because they want to do the right thing and want to protect their communities.”
“We have shown through analysis that high usage of the app does make a difference to a community.
“If you compare two local authorities side by side that are at a very similar stage of the epidemic and have a similar socio-economic make up and so on — having more app users is one of the factors that results in lower infection rates in those communities, so it does make a difference,” he added.
While the majority of the coronavirus restrictions on life in public – including compulsory face coverings, limits on large events and crowds, the one-metre-plus rule, table service and nightclub closures – will be lifted on 19 July, the self-isolation rules will remain in place for longer.
Anyone who is notified by the NHS Track and Trace app after coming into close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 will still have to self-isolate. As of 16 August, these rules will no longer apply to those who are double-vaxxed.
But business leaders have warned that the continuation of the rules will cause the severe staff shortages they are already facing to endure, especially for the hospitality industry where many workers are younger and therefore unlikely to receive their second vaccine by the 16 August.
Chief executive of UK Hospitality Kate Nicholls told Sky News it was “not an either or” between effective transmission control and businesses operating fully.
“What we are asking for is pragmatic adjustment to avoid disadvantaging young workers – test to release as per international travel will reduce disruption without reducing protection,” she said.