Many thousands of people may have isolated unnecessarily because a government error meant they were “pinged” by the Covid app for a “close contact” in the prior five days rather than two days, a Whitehall whistleblower has told the Guardian. Official guidance for the NHS Covid app defined close contact as occurring two days before the infected person had symptoms, while the official NHS test-and-trace service has always used two days as its definition. He said this was being “updated based on public health advice to look back at contacts two days prior to a positive test”. “The Covid app has been one mess after another and a lack of clear information and guidance around the app only undermines its effectiveness,” he added. “The disclosure means that many thousands of people have been pinged by the Covid app without their consent,” he said.

Source: The Guardian August 17, 2021 05:00 UTC