Tracing app has sent just one alert about an outbreak in a venue
The contact-tracing app for England and Wales has reportedly sent only one alert about an outbreak of coronavirus in a venue since its launch two weeks ago.
The tracing app, which has been downloaded 16 million times, tells users whether or not they’ve been near someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.
Its QR code scanner allows people to check in at venues, and if there is an outbreak at a venue then an NHS Test and Trace alert is sent to them.
The government hailed the app as an important step and passed a new law making it illegal for venues not to display the official NHS QR code.
But the efficacy of the contact tracing app has once more been called in question after Sky News reported that only four alerts have been sent out about outbreaks in venues, three of which expired before the app was launched nationwide.
The broadcaster also revealed that data about check-ins is stored locally on phones, so when the alert is sent it cannot name the venue where the outbreak has taken place.
Instead, it says: “We are letting you know that you have been exposed to coronavirus when you were out.”
It tells people to watch out for symptoms rather than giving any specific advice.
And given the privacy-protecting design, public health officials are unable to look at the data to see who has checked in at a venue using the app.
The government’s test and trace programme has been responsible for a series of embarrassing failures. Last week it was revealed that nearly 16,000 positive cases between 25 September and 2 October were not uploaded to national statics or passed on to contact tracers.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the missing results meant as many as 48,000 contacts had been traced or isolated.
And a glitch in the app, which has resulted in thousands of users receiving “ghost” notifications, has still not been resolved.
Officials have claimed the notifications do not indicate a user has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.
The Department of Health and Social Care did not respond to a request for comment.