Confused - just been told to isolate by app

[Keepgoing88]

I’ve just had a message from the NHS app saying to isolate for eight days I can’t for the life of me think who I have been near to recently who I don’t know. It was obviously quite recently as it says to isolate for eight days. Has anyone had this like from being in a supermarket or something? The only people I have been within 2 m of for 15 mins our my own family who don’t even have the app, my parents who have the app but haven’t been contacted and don’t have the virus and also I have been at work with one other person who doesn’t know anything about this what could be the cause I’m interested to hear other peoples stories, I’m surely not the only one who has had a message and not sure who the contact is?!

Sorry about the spelling I was dictating into my phone!

I thought the point of the app is you won't know who passed it on to you as you might not have contact details of everyone you have been in contact with.

You might want to check with your neighbours if your house joins in to another. My friend was told to isolate and they worked out that she and the neighbour had been wfh in adjoining rooms (terraced house). Her alert was triggered by their positive test. She needn't have isolated as she hadn't spoken to them/ seen them but didn't know at the time. Their phones must have been close through the wall

It is a bit odd as you’d have had to be in close proximity for 15 minutes. Did you have a chat with a neighbour you might have forgotten about or maybe a long queue in a shop where 2m social distancing wasn’t in place?

Thanks! Sorry what I meant was I’ve been to the shop a couple of times, other than my only close contact has been with people I live with and one work colleague who I know would tell me if they had the virus

You can see on the app exactly when the exposure was. That might help?

Had this happen to my mum, turned out to be her neighbour. The app is crap and not fit for purpose

Close contact isn't just 'within 2 metres for 15 minutes'

From the guidance

What is meant by a contact
A contact is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. You can be a contact any time from 2 days before the person who tested positive developed their symptoms (or, if they did not have any symptoms, from 2 days before the date their positive test was taken), and up to 10 days after, as this is when they can pass the infection on to others. A risk assessment may be undertaken to determine this, but a contact can be:
• anyone who lives in the same household as another person who has COVID-19 symptoms or has tested positive for COVID-19
• anyone who has had any of the following types of contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19:
• face-to-face contact including being coughed on or having a face-to-face conversation within one metre
• been within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact
• been within 2 metres of someone for more than 15 minutes (either as a one-off contact, or added up together over one day)
• travelled in the same vehicle or a plane
An interaction through a Perspex (or equivalent) screen with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 is not usually considered to be a contact, as long as there has been no other contact such as those in the list above.
If you are a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 you will be notified by the NHS Test and Trace service via text message, email or phone and should follow this guidance closely.

@user1477249785 wow I didn’t know that how?

Mine went off a few weeks ago so I’ve switched the app off for now. I’m working from home and not seeing anyone so can only assume it’s neighbours through the wall or something!

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo those details you've listed are from the NHS test and trace guidelines but as far as the app is concerned, it sends out 'pings' via Bluetooth every 15 mins and works out if you're near/have been near another phone belonging to someone who tests positive.
It won't know if you've been coughed on for instance, or if your phone was in your bag in a locker, but it would pick up a next door neighbour's Bluetooth signal.

The app is rubbish and I don't trust it any more.

I’ve been told to isolate and the only place I went to on the day of contact was the supermarket. I don’t have any close neighbours so it wasn’t because of contact through the wall. I can only conclude it was someone near me in the supermarket queue or the checkout lady.

The app parameters were changed at the end of October so you no longer have to be near someone for 15 minutes, it takes a number of different measurements of time/distance and calculates individual risks based on that. So perfectly possible for supermarket exposure to trigger it. There are articles online that explain it further but struggling to link them on my phone at the moment.

This has happened to 2 of my friends. One was the neighbour who they hadn’t been near but as previous poster said, it must have been detected through the wall. My friend was told she still had to isolate or she’d be fined! My other friend traced it back to a trip to the supermarket where it must have been another customer it was certainly not a case of being in close contact for 15 mins.

After these two events I deleted the App.

covid19.nhs.uk/risk-scoring-algorithm.html

The 15 minutes of contact can be cumulative so if you had several occasions of being close to someone that goes on to test positive then they could add up to the 15 minute period.

OP sorry if stating obvious

You know the app notification is not legally binding, right?

Delete the app

The 15 minutes is slightly misleading though, surely?

Yes, the longer you are near somebody the greater the chances of catching it are. But you can't say "it was just somebody who was near me in supermarket. There's no way I was in close proximity for 15 minutes so it's a false alarm, I'll just ignore it."

Surely supermarkets are exactly the types of places it spreads, and if you are pinged you should self-isolate?

Just delete it, it's not fit for purpose. I deleted it in case our neighbours test postive - I'm not isolating just because I live in a flat!

I also don't always take my phone when I go out so it was pretty pointless me having it really.