The NHS COVID-19 Test and Trace app has now launched. The app is part of the large scale COVID-19 testing and contact tracing programme in England and Wales and will be used, alongside traditional contact tracing, to notify us if we come into contact with someone who later tests positive for coronavirus.
The app allows us to report symptoms, apply for a coronavirus test, check in to venues by scanning a QR code and it helps the NHS trace individuals that may have coronavirus.
The app does this while protecting our anonymity. Nobody, including the government, will know who or where a particular user is. The app will not track us or our location. Instead our postcode district helps the app work out where the virus is spreading.
The app helps us trace app users who have spent time near other app users, who they may not personally know, and who later test positive for coronavirus. The “Check-in” feature supports this functionality by anonymously alerting us to who we have been at the same venue with at the same time.
Displaying a QR code is legal requirement for the following businesses / locations:
- Hospitality, including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés
- Tourism and leisure, including gyms, swimming pools, hotels, museums, cinemas, zoos and theme parks
- Close contact services, including hairdressers *facilities provided by local authorities, including town halls and civic centres (for events), libraries and children’s centres
Every additional contact that the app traces will improve the tracing service and help us reduce the spread of coronavirus in the city. Let’s do the right thing for Derby by ensuring we have downloaded and make use of the app and, if we are business owners, that QR codes are displayed throughout the city.
Dr Robyn Dewis, Director of Public Health for Derby City Council, said:
When we use the Test and Trace app or display a QR code in our establishments, we will all be supporting in the fight against COVID-19 and rising case numbers. The app will be an invaluable tool in notifying the contacts of positive cases and preventing transmission across the city, therefore helping to keep ourselves and others safer. Let’s do the right thing for Derby and ensure that we have downloaded the app and that businesses across the city are compliant in displaying QR codes.
For information and resources, including a webform to create a personalised poster that can be downloaded to display, visit the COVID-19 app website.
You can download the NHS COVID-19 app now from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.