Many people aren't bothering to use the NHS COVID-19 app to 'ping' others so they know they may have been exposed to the virus - a worry as the Omicron variant surges.
Hundreds of thousands of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are not using the NHS contact tracing apps to alert their close contacts, despite the outbreak of the Omicron variant, new figures reveal.
In Scotland less than 20% of people who have downloaded the contact tracing app are using it to inform people that they have tested positive. The Scottish government recently announced that contacts of infected people must isolate until they can take a PCR test, and the app is a key way of alerting them.
In England and Wales it's estimated only half of people who have the app are using it to alert their contacts of a positive result.The NHS contact tracing apps are a vital plank in the government's response to the pandemic.When someone tests positive via a PCR test, they can opt to use the app to send a"ping" to other app users who have spent a substantial time within a few metres of them in the preceding days.
The numbers reached a peak during the so-called"pingdemic" of late July, when more than 600,000 were sent out in a single week, but have since fallen to a third of that total.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
COVID-19: Complacency is dangerous as Chris Whitty appears fed up with suggestions Omicron is milderAnalysis: A lot hangs on the government's Plan B restrictions but many scientists fear the plan is full of holes that give the virus opportunities to go on spreading, putting hospitals under pressure
Read more »
COVID-19: New needle-phobia friendly coronavirus vaccine could protect against virus mutationsThe new technology uses a jet of air to push the vaccine through the skin and aims to predict how the virus could mutate.
Read more »
Brentford vs Manchester United postponed after Covid-19 outbreakUnited say outbreak requires ‘ongoing surveillance’ after closing first team operations at training ground
Read more »
Covid-19: A record day for cases - what does it tell us?Three takeaways on the effect of Omicron, as the UK reports its highest number of daily infections yet.
Read more »
Billie Eilish: I would have died from Covid-19 if I hadn’t been vaccinatedThe pop star told Howard Stern that she had the virus in August: ‘I want it to be clear that it is because of the vaccine I’m fine’
Read more »