Posters being rolled out ahead of national track and trace app
22 Sep 2020 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Council buildings and businesses in the county will be displaying NHS QR code posters from later this week ahead of the NHS COVID-19 app being rolled out nationally.
It’s now mandatory for a wider range of businesses and organisations to collect customer, visitor and staff contact detail logs, which is vital for the NHS Test and Trace service in England to contact the necessary people if coronavirus outbreaks are identified in venues.
And from Thursday 24 September they will be required by law to display official NHS QR code posters to make it easier for people to check-in at different premises once the NHS COVID-19 app is rolled out across the country.
If people choose to check-in using the QR code poster they do not need to log in via any other route.
Businesses will be expected to make sure their customers are aware of the rules around QR codes by displaying posters and speaking to customers directly.
When someone enters a venue and scans an official NHS QR code poster, the venue information will be logged on the user’s phone. The device will check if users have been at that location at the relevant time and if the app finds a match, users will get an alert anonymously with advice on what to do based on the level of risk.
Councillor Jeff Watson, Cabinet member for Adult Health and Wellbeing, said: “The majority of businesses and organisations in Northumberland have been first class in playing their part in tackling the virus by putting in place COVID-secure measures in their venues, but new legal requirements will make it compulsory for them to do so.”
"By keeping contact logs and displaying NHS QR codes it will ensure there is consistency across the country and the public can seamlessly provide their details, while helping the national track and trace programme.”
Services included in the new legal requirements are:
- hospitality, including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés
- tourism and leisure, including gyms, swimming pools, hotels, museums, cinemas, zoos and theme parks
- close contact services, including hairdressers, facilities provided by local authorities, including town halls and civic centres (for events), libraries and children’s centres