NHS Covid sends a record number of pings
Written byTimes Magazine
The NHS Covid app sends a record number of contact tracing alerts and notifies people of their exposure to someone who has positive for the virus. 698,646 pings were give to people in England and Wales between December 16 and December 22.
That's nearly 8,000 more than the previous record of 690,711, broadcast over seven days in July. No data available for the Christmas season yet.
People who are "pinged" by the app with a "close contact" warning are advised to take daily tests for Covid - or to self-isolate, if unvaccinated and 18 years old - to reduce the chance of transmitting Reduce Covid, but there is no legal obligation to do so.
In summer, the app raises concern when large numbers of workers in various industries are pinged to do their jobs while in isolation temporarily.
A survey conducted at the time showed that a third of 18 to 34-year-olds had deleted the app, and another third planned to do so.
Recently on Twitter, some users complained about receiving signals more than a week after exposure to Covid, thus reducing the usability of the service.
UK health authorities have not responded to a request from the BBC for comment.
However, a spokesperson said: "The NHS Covid-19 app has prevented thousands of cases and is an essential tool in protecting the spread of Covid-19 by notifying people when they may have come into contact with a confirmed case.
"This app is an integral part of responding to the pandemic ... we encourage everyone to continue to use it as an additional tool to keep everyone safe." Reports of positive test results also hit a new high of 243,406 in England and Wales over the same seven-day period to December 22.
Official figures show that a record number of positive cases have been reported in the UK recently, with 189,213 added on December 30 alone.
Separate contact tracing apps are used in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Data from Scotland also show that a record number of contact notifications were sent via the Protect Scotland app during this period.
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