Covid-19: Test and trace app incompatibility angers cross-border residents

People crossing the border for work say the apps do not allow for real life

People living near England's border with Scotland say they are angry that Covid-19 test and trace apps for the two nations are incompatible.

Users living in one nation and travelling to the other can only use one app at a time.

Barrister Brian Payne, who commutes to Newcastle from the Scottish Borders, called it a "significant failing".

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it was working on "a technical solution".

The Protect Scotland app launched on 10 September with the NHS Covid-19 app following last week.

Mr Payne said he was not able to download the latter because it would not accept his Scottish postcode.

"I'm working alongside people who are high risk in terms of infection," he said.

"If I come into contact with people who are infected and that can't be traced and I go back to Scotland, I run a big risk of spreading it in Scotland and, of course, the Scottish tracing won't pick that up."

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Positive test results from one nation cannot be entered into the other nation's app and users say they can only receive alerts from one at a time.

Yvonne Barrowman, from Paxton in the Scottish Borders, said: "Whichever app you are in is the one that is going to contact you and is tracking your movements and registering any contacts that you have.

"If you switch an app you basically turn off the notifications for the other one."

The DHSC said the NHS Covid-19 app was "primarily designed for use by citizens in England and Wales".

"We are currently working with Republic of Ireland and the devolved administrations on a technical solution that will allow for people to be notified of potential exposures as they travel across the Common Travel Area," a spokesperson said.

In her daily briefing, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish government was "working really hard" with the NHS in England and Northern Ireland "on linking up Protect Scotland with the apps in those countries to support people who travel to make these different apps interoperable".