Protect yourself and others by downloading COVID-19 app

Published Thursday, 24th September 2020

Residents of Hartlepool are being urged to support the national effort to tackle the coronavirus pandemic by downloading the new NHS COVID-19 app on their phones.

The app which has been launched to the public today (Thursday September 24th) is a part of the NHS Test and Trace service.

The app alerts people who may be at risk of coronavirus so they can have the information they need to protect themselves, their communities and the people they love.

For contact tracing, it detects and logs other nearby app users using random unique IDs. If any of those users later test positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), an exposure alert with advice on what to do will be issued.

The app also allows people to check into venues by scanning a QR code, report symptoms and order a coronavirus test.

It is available from the App Store and Google Play.

Craig Blundred, Hartlepool Borough Council’s Acting Director of Public Health, said: “It is important that we all do as much as we can to keep each other safe and tackle the rising infection rate. I welcome the launch of the app and would urge people to download it to their phones.”

Designated businesses and organisations, including hospitality, close contact services and leisure venues are now legally required to log details of customers, visitors and staff for NHS Test and Trace.  From today (Thursday September 24th), these venues are also legally required to display official NHS QR code posters which can be scanned using the new app, at the entrance to their premises.

Advice on how to produce an NHS QR code poster is available at www.gov.uk/create-coronavirus-qr-poster