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(Picture: PA)People are being forced to self-isolate because their neighbours have Covid-19 and the NHS Test and Trace app is “pinging” them through the walls, it has been reported.
According to sources close to the Test and Trace app team, the Bluetooth signal used is known to be strong enough to penetrate from home to home.
This means people are being told to isolate because they share a wall with someone who has has fallen ill, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The problem was raised during the initial stages of building the app but is only now being reviewed amid concerns that the feature is too sensitive.
One source told the paper: “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,” they added.
It comes as more than half a million people in England were “pinged” by the NHS Covid-19 app in a single week - the highest weekly figure ever recorded.
A total of 520,194 alerts were sent to users in the week to July 7 - a jump of 46 per cent on the previous week - telling them to isolate after being in close contact with somebody who has coronavirus.
When asked how many people were believed to have been pinged through walls, a government spokesperson told the paper that the number was not large enough for it to be deemed an “issue.”
“But we wouldn’t say that this never happens,” they said.
NHS guidance says the Bluetooth signal is reduced through walls rather than blocked entirely, with people on the other side “less likely” to receive an alert,” they added.
