Concerns about the effectiveness of the NHS Covid tracker app can be revealed only days before it is rolled out nationwide.
The Evening Standard has learned that a series of problems were raised by “Covid health champions” — the hundreds of residents who volunteered to help people sign up to its London trial.
The £10 million app is due to be rolled out nationwide on Thursday after pilots in Newham and the Isle of Wight. But problems unearthed in the east London borough centre on the need for businesses to display an official NHS test and trace QR [quick response] code for app users to scan with their smartphone to “check in” to a venue.
Many venues already have their own QR codes — which do not link with the app, meaning the location is not registered with the test and trace system. Other firms are said to be reluctant to display QR codes because they fear having to shut down if an outbreak is traced back to their premises.
Over the weekend, the Government announced that businesses now have a legal requirement to display the official QR poster from Thursday or risk a £1,000 fine.
Another problem is that many Newham residents do not have the latest smartphones required. The council was not been given figures showing take-up of the app.
Other problems to emerge include:
- “Disinterested responses” from venue staff about QR codes.
- Walls reducing the range of the Bluetooth signal used by phones to communicate, “which makes the phones think they are further apart than they are”.
- Residents who ventured outside Newham but were unable to update the app with their location.