The NHS Covid-19 app has reportedly sent out just one alert about a coronavirus outbreak in a venue despite millions of check-ins having been logged in its system.
The contact tracing app has been downloaded 16 million times since its launch two weeks ago and is designed to tell people when someone they have been near has tested positive for coronavirus.
Thousands of people have been told to self-isolate via text and phone by NHS Test and Trace but the app’s usefulness has been questioned – particularly as its privacy settings mean it cannot name venues where outbreaks take place and health officials cannot see who has checked in.
Analysis of the app’s code by Sky News revealed that just four alerts have been sent out about outbreaks in venues, of which three expired before the app was released to the public.
The alert reads: ‘We are letting you know that you may have been exposed to coronavirus when you were out.’
It tells users there is only a ‘small risk’ they have been infected but encourages them to look out for symptoms and keep following social distancing rules.
Paul Hunter, professor of health protection at the University of East Anglia, told the broadcaster that the app’s lack of detail meant venue alerts ‘almost certainly can’t be relied on to be an important and effective way of controlling the epidemic.’
‘If it’s all done through the app and Public Health England and the local public health teams don’t know anything about it, is it making the outbreak worse? It could be acting to hide clusters and outbreaks from local public health teams.
‘If that is happening then that is a really serious problem and will undoubtedly make it more difficult to control the epidemic.’
The app has issued alerts for other types of contact with infected people, such as in the workplace, although some employers have been discouraging their staff from using it.
One secondary school told staff to ignore messages and delete the app if they felt they had not been within 2 metres of a teacher who tested positive, according to the BBC.
Meanwhile two major companies including pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline have told employees it should be switched off during office hours as their workplaces are ‘Covid-secure’.
It is now a legal requirement for bars, restaurants and pubs to display an official NHS QR code allowing people to check in by scanning it with their phones.
It recorded more than 1.5 million venue check-ins in a single day on September 26, the first Saturday after it was launched.
The Department of Health said the system was still in its early stages of development but makes tracing easier and more accurate, suggesting that its privacy protections make it less likely to be filled with fake contact details.
A spokesperson for the ministry said: ‘Alongside the app’s contact tracing features, the QR code check-in system performs a number of important functions, not least providing a digital diary for users to prompt them as to who they have been with should they test positive.
‘If Heath Protection Teams believe a venue is linked to an outbreak they may send a “warn and inform” message to app users who attended the venue at a similar time based on when they checked-in.
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