Tomorrow, 24 September, the Government is launching a new Test and Trace app to help prevent further spread of the COVID-19 virus.
We are lucky to still have a relatively low infection rate here in Dorset and the app will help this trend continue. Everyone who downloads the app is helping to prevent the spread of the virus by notifying users if they have come into contact with someone who may later test positive for coronavirus.
From tomorrow you will be able to go to your usual app store on your smartphone and download the app – search for NHS COVID-19. Some features of the app include risk alerts by postcode, a symptom checker and test booking. Please be assured that the app tracks the virus, not the individual.
It is also now mandatory for some businesses and organisations to have a system in place to collect visitor data and keep it for 21 days. The Council have contacted Dorset’s businesses, their town and parish councils and their own local council services about this new legal requirement and have asked them to display NHS QR code posters in their properties ahead of the app launch tomorrow.
The venues affected include those in the following sectors:
• hospitality
• leisure and tourism
• close contact services (such as salons)
• places of worship
• local authority venues (such as Libraries, Registration Offices, Leisure Centres and Town and Village Halls)
From tomorrow we should start seeing these businesses with the NHS QR posters in their venues for customers and users to check-in with the new NHS COVID-app at that location.
If we all download and start using the app, we will be doing our bit to keep each other safe and stop infection rates in Dorset rising.
For more information on how to download and use the app – click HERE.
What if you don’t have a smartphone? Don’t worry if you don’t have a smartphone, businesses may continue to collect customers’ data using a log book or other paper method.
For all questions about the app please click HERE.
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