Neighbours are getting isolation warnings because the NHS Test and Trace app has 'pinged' through their walls, it's being reported.
More than half a million people have been forced into isolation in a single week due to the Test and Trace app.
But, according to The Telegraph, some are having to self-isolate without ever coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus.
READ MORE: E-scooters leaving city centre a 'no go area'
A staggering 194,005 people tested positive for Covid-19 in England at least once in the week to July 7.
Anybody who tests positive for the virus is transferred to Test and Trace so their contacts can be traced and alerted.
The newspaper claims that sources close to the Test and Trace team have been told the Bluetooth signal is strong enough to penetrate through walls.
A source said: "We are hearing of anecdotal cases and we do know that it is possible for the signal to travel through walls, although it is weakened.
"The app has been calibrated to try to avoid that happening, but we are reviewing the issue of notifications carefully."
* Has this happened to you, and what would you do if you were pinged? Tell us in the comments
Dr Fiona Sampson, a senior research fellow in emergency and urgent care at the University of Sheffield, told the publication: "My partner got pinged and rang 111 to find out when the contact was. However, he hadn't left the house on the day of the alleged contact.
"We later realised he had been working with his phone on the table, less than two metres away from our neighbour."
A spokesman for the government wouldn’t confirm the exact number of people believed to of been pinged through walls although he did say “The number was not big enough to be considered an issue.”
The latest data issued shows there have been 530,126 alerts in the seven days to July 7th - 520,194 in England and 9,932 in Wales which is a 46% increase from the previous week.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
