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Venues have been denying entry to customers who haven’t downloaded the NHS Covid-19 app, despite the fact that less than a sixth of the UK population – around 10 million people – has it on their phones.
Infection tracking software has been plagued with problems with the latest fiasco seeing up to 70,000 users not being able to log their test results.
But despite the flaws, pubs and restaurants are starting to attract customers who don’t have it on their phones.
Families have said that the unofficial places have refused to let them in, even though the government’s own guidance indicates that it should not be a precondition for entry.
The rules only tell companies that they ‘must’ display the ‘official NHS QR poster’ and request a code to connect to the app.
But customers without the special phone system should be able to log in as long as they provide their contact details in some way.
Pubs and restaurants have started turning away customers who don’t have the app
The British have had trouble using the tracking app, while others who refuse to install it say they have been denied entry to pubs and restaurants.
One customer wrote on Twitter: ‘I was denied entry to two establishments {a coffee shop and a pub} today because I did not download the NHS track and trace app! Is this correct?’
Another said: ‘I was denied a meal last night because I didn’t have a Gvt phone app !!
You may think I’m being overly dramatic, but now you need to understand. What else are we going to be denied access to soon unless we have a government phone app? Please, please, please wake up people. ‘
One user, Chloe James, wrote: “I’m in a pub and apparently they’ve been told they can’t serve anyone unless they have the track and trace app.”
Government guidance on the app says not having it is not a reason for venues to refuse entry, as long as they provide their contact details.
But places like pubs could use the excuse of licensing regulations as a reason to prevent people from entering, citing public safety.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on social media that it was an “absolutely fantastic” response so far, urging more people to download it.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said six million people got the app on the first day it was launched, and since then this number had risen to 10 million by noon Sunday.
More than 1.5 million registrations were registered at the locations on Saturday, while more than 460,000 businesses downloaded and printed posters with QR codes that the app can scan to register at the locations, he added.
Despite the problems, more than ten million people have downloaded the application.
These QR codes allow contact trackers to reach multiple people if an outbreak is identified in one location.
Hancock said: ‘The enthusiastic response from more than 10 million people who downloaded the app in just three days has been absolutely fantastic.
“This is a good start, but we want even more people and businesses to support the app because the more we download it, the more effective it will be.
“If you haven’t downloaded it yet, I highly recommend that you join the growing number of users who have, to protect yourself and your loved ones.”
His comments came a day after an issue was resolved preventing users of the NHS Covid-19 app in England from recording a positive test result, but people who book a test outside of the app are still unable to record results. negatives.
However, NHS hospitals are warning that test and trace systems in England are not ready for the demands of winter.
NHS Providers is calling for testing capacity to be quadrupled in three months, a dramatic improvement in response times and a clear plan for regular testing of healthcare workers, according to the BBC.
Concerns were raised when it emerged that people tested in NHS hospitals or Public Health Laboratories England (PHE), or those taking part in the National Statistics Office’s infection survey, were unable to enter their results into the newly launched app.
The app has been available for download in England and Wales since Thursday, but the problem existed only in England.
A tweet from the app’s official account on Friday confirmed that certain test results could not be recorded, after a user tweeted to say that he was being asked for a code, which he did not have, to enter his result.
On Saturday night, a spokeswoman said: “Everyone who receives a positive test result can register their result on the app.”
