Track and trace confusion as NHS app users CAN’T share negative Covid test results
THERE has been confusion as many who have downloaded the new NHS track and trace app are unable to share their negative Covid-19 test results. The app currently asks for a code to register a test result but the code is only received if the test is positive. Many are finding out that they cannot […]
THERE has been confusion as many who have downloaded the new NHS track and trace app are unable to share their negative Covid-19 test results.
The app currently asks for a code to register a test result but the code is only received if the test is positive.
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Many are finding out that they cannot share their result with app for England and Wales if they did not book the test through the app.
Those who tick the boxes of what symptoms they have find themselves with a timer counting down how long they have until their self-isolation ends.
The Department for Health and Social Care have said they are addressing the issue and that the app would be updated.
People who have been using the app since it launched on Thursday, but had already booked a test before downloading it have reported being unable to to stop the self-isolation countdown.
Prof Deborah Ryan told the BBC: “That’s so confusing as the app doesn’t tell you that can’t enter negative test booked outside it.
“And the app still tells you to quarantine if you entered symptoms. So this means I can’t turn off the self-isolation alert in the app?”
The self-isolation cannot be de-activated in this situation.
Furthermore, tests taken as part of the Office for National Statistics surveys taken in an NHS Hospital or Public Health England lab cannot be shared on the app – regardless of the result.
The NHS Covid-19 has been downloaded about 4million times so far, according to data analyst App Annie.
It comes as the new NHS Test and Trace app could wrongly tell a third of Brits to self-isolate – and it doesn’t work on older iPhones.
Brits were urged to download the long-delayed Covid-19 contact tracing software after it launched across England and Wales.
But within hours, flaws in how the app functions has emerged – despite months of setbacks while it was piloted on the Isle of Wight.
According to a report in The Times, one in three people told to self-isolate by the app will have been an error.
That’s because it relies on Bluetooth signals to determine whether someone has been within two metres of an infectious person for 15 minutes.
But this signal can be interfered with by other devices that use Bluetooth – such as wireless headphones – and generate a “false positive”.
Meanwhile, furious Brits have taken to social media to complain that they have been unable to download the app on their iPhones.
The error message says that iOS 13.5 or later is required – an operating system that can only be used on the iPhone 6S or newer.
It means that handsets which are more than five years old – of which there are 10 in total – are not compatible with the new app.
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Apple regularly updates its operating system and restricts apps from using software on older models.
Recent data from the technology company Statista suggests 3.8 per cent of Brits with smartphones have an iPhone 6.
With almost 80 million smartphone users across the country, it means there could be more than three million people with that handset alone.
