The English Tracing App

[Kaz]

Absolutely right Ria, it's a huge negative!

[Workingman]

I am assuming that the first notification is an in-app thing with phone-to-phone contact. Bluetooth is not sophisticated enough to do the timing thing - the other part of the system where you need to be in the same area for x minutes - hence the database to analyse contacts AND times,

So, you are in a busy store and you walk past someone, maybe in another aisle, and it "pings" then you walk past again and it "pings" again so you get notifications. It's possible.

But my BIG question is this: What the hell is someone who has registered as testing positive doing wandering about? As soon as a test shows positive they should be self-isolating as quickly and by the most direct route as possible. Isn't hat the point of the whole thing?

[miasmum]

I got the same message yesterday, but before I could look properly it disappeared so thank you Kaz and Ria for explaining

[Kaz]

Frank, I agree

Shell, Ria, I'm glad we all got the all-clear in the end!

[JoM]

Glad it turned out to be nothing to worry about for you all!

Here’s one for you, not really app related but re test results.

I’ve got a friend, Jayne, who lives in Barnsley. Just a bit of background, I’ve known her for years and she’s not the sort of girl to pass on an uncle’s milkman’s cousin’s window cleaner kind of story.

Anyway, she said she was talking to the elderly couple next door and they said they’d booked to go for a test, she didn’t know why they’d gone for one but both said that they felt absolutely fine. They waited an hour at the centre and when it looked like they’d be waiting for a while longer they gave up and went home without having the tests done.
A couple of days later they were notified that they’d both tested positive.

I guess their details were on the system and possibly they’ve been mixed up with others who should’ve been given a positive result but have been left without an answer, meaning that their contacts weren’t being traced.

[Kaz]

[TheOstrich]

Reading forums elsewhere, you're all certainly not alone in receiving these rather strange messages. I have also seen reference to the fact you can only read the app messages properly if you turn your phone to horizontal mode rather than vertical!

Doesn't exactly fill you with confidence, does it?

[cruiser2]

I only go to the same shops every week so the shop keepers know if I have been recently.
I refuse to give my details on myphone as I di not want strangers knowing where I have been. Also the information could be sold to marketing firms.