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The Daily PollTHE HSE IS today expected to outline that the contact tracing system is “back on track” after its capacity was surpassed due to a surge in Covid-19 cases earlier this month.
It is understood that Oireachtas Health Committee will be told that the contact tracing system’s capacity was surpassed when the number of Covid-19 cases sharply increased at the start of the month, but that it has gotten back on track since 23 October.
In July, the HSE launched its Covid-19 contact tracing app, which is intended to help contact tracing, particularly with people who aren’t family and friends, and uses Bluetooth technology to determine whether you’ve been a close contact of someone who’s tested positive for the virus.
Users are encouraged to switch on their Bluetooth settings, and to check in with their symptoms every day.
So, today we want to know: Are you still using the Covid-19 contact tracing app?
You’ve left out what I think would be the most common answer “it’s still active on my phone for contact tracing purposes but I don’t “check in” any day on it”. The “check in” feature isn’t the main feature it’s the Bluetooth being switched on so that if someone was close to you and was a positive case it will alert you. The check in feature is just an annoying add on.
@D4 Observer: that’s the “I have the app on my phone but I never check in”
@Bry Hickenbottom: the point he’s making is the poll is useless. For contact tracing to work out needs to be installed. The options should be installed, uninstalled or never used it.
Like the apps, the poll should be clear, not a confused mess.
@D4 Observer: No option for – I downloaded it but it wouldn’t install on my iPhone 7, either.
@Bry Hickenbottom: Wasn’t there earlier
@Bry Hickenbottom: that was added after my comment
Just to be clear. You don’t need to check in to be ‘using’ the app.
As long as it’s installed and you have Bluetooth on you are using the app.
@John Moloy: Always prompted to turn on Location on mine as well as Bluetooth..
@ianglen: that’s just the way low energy Bluetooth works, it calls it location but the app doesn’t use your location at all.
I used to and checked in everyday til I was notified I’d been in close contact with a positive case on a day I knew I never left my house. 2 weeks of self isolating and 2 uncomfortable tests later, shock horror I didnt have Covid!! Lost faith in tracker after that.
@Sharon Brennan: when you got the notification, did it tell you on which day you were supposedly in contact with the infected person – and that was a day you hadn’t left the house? Or, did you get the notification itself on a day you hadn’t left the house? Genuine question
@The Descolada: It doesn’t tell you what day you were a close contact.
You get the alert the day the person enters the code they got from the HSE which could be several days after you were in contact depending on when they got tested.
The alert stays on your phone for 14 days too
@Sharon Brennan: watching joint committee today on contact tracing, TD David cullinane asked Dr Kevin Kellether why the HSE Was directing teachers and SNA to disable the covid app when they go into school ? Dr kellether couldn’t answer. Shocking that this is happening.
@Bluechip78: thanks, that’s what I was wondering.
@The Descolada: This was back in late August. I had been checking in on the app everyday. I checked in on a Saturday and within minutes got a call to say I’d been in close contact the previous Tuesday. It was the Tuesday that I knew I hadn’t left home. I still have no idea who I was in close contact with
Did not download it. Better things to be doing.
@Maurice O Neill: like commenting on journal posts about said app. Ok.
@Maurice O Neill: what better things did you do in that 1 minute you could have spent downloading it?
@Maurice O Neill: It takes a few seconds and you do nave to do anything.
@Maurice O Neill: what is better than being responsible?
After it overheated my phone and drained the battery in 3 hours, I deleted it and never went back, inept coders at work, wouldn’t trust anything the app says, ill just stick to social distancing in public
@Adam J: they fixed the battery issue with an update months ago
@Adam J: I deleted and reinstalled it after there was issues and I have had no problems with it.
@Adam J: fickle aren’t you.
The author doesn’t seem to realise that whether you check in or not is irrelevant. So many people are confused about this.
I don’t like leaving my Bluetooth on
@Carryyourowncanou: why?
@Bernard Sweeney: because it automatically connects to speakers and other devices
@Carryyourowncanou: it shouldnt be automatically connecting to other devices.if it is,that’s a issue in your settings.
It will automatically pick up other bluetooth enabled devices nearby, but shouldnt connect unless you direct it to. Like,my phone automatically connects to my watch and headphones, because I’ve paired them. However, whilst it can see the tv at home, it doesn’t connect to that as I havent paired them.
I did have it but no longer switch it on as the only place I go is work and apparently I can’t catch it there as I am a teacher .Even if I had got notification of being a close contact the Perspex screen acts as an impenetrable shield negating the need for me to self isolate .Rumour has it “the Department” would rather we didn’t bring the app into classrooms as it only exacerbates an already over heated situation in contact tracing and could lead to the closure of a school .Is there an emoji for sarcasm ?
Disgraceful. People should be fined and restricted to their homes for not using it.
@Gary Kearney: why Serbia?!
@Paula Jones: Belgrade has a very decent blues scene. I highly recommend it between April and end of October.
@Paula Jones: think he means Siberia but details not important these days.
@Vladimir Macro: Vladimir is a class name
@Damo: thanks mate. Solid I know
@Vladimir Macro: why? My mum only uses it about half the time she goes out..those are the times she goes out on her own. Rest of the time, I’m with her a d have it on,like today whilst shopping for groceries. The only time we weren’t together, she was in the car a d I was running a couple of errands. The way I see it is that if I get a notification it will apply to her as well, as we live together,and I’m usually with her when out a d about anyways.no point both of us having it on.
There is no answer here for “I do not have a smartphone so I can’t download it.” Why does our government assume we all have smartphones? They also assumed this in their restaurant meal subsidy facility. I wish they would stop doing this.
When I downloaded it, I was getting constant push notifications saying the app would not work if I didn’t turn on my location. I already had Bluetooth on but apparently it wasn’t enough..
@The only INFP in Ireland: A glitch just reset the bluetooth and its fine
Battery says no…
Hell no
After the recent tracing fiasco I stopped using it.
They had nearly 3 months of raging pandemic plus 3 months of relative stability (Jun-Aug) to get 2 things right, tracing and testing. How well did they do on either front?
Even after that, even after being the first European nation to go into a second lockdown less than six months after the first, the majority of people still do not question how we are being led and why we should keep paying attention the them.
Hell no
I downloaded it it melted my battery even with bluetooth off so uninstalled it. Forgot all about it after that
@Aaron92utd: careless or care less?
Doesn’t work on older phones, e.g. iPhone 6 or earlier. A lot of people I know give their older phones to parents/grandparents or kids etc. when they upgrade so a trick has definitely been missed here.
And be apart of the scam,no thank you!
I deleted it from my phone today as teachers who are getting alerted that they are a close contact are then informed by the HSE that it doesn’t count if you are a teacher and just ignore it. So what is the point of the app again ?
Contact tracing does not work on iPhone 6plus or below so no point in using app unless you want to check stats.
I tried but I had a lot of issues with it, it drained my battery extremely quickly and kept sending me push notifications about needing to activate my location services, even though they were active and shouldn’t even be required by the app.
It would be great if it reminded you to check your symptoms daily- I forget many days!
Forgot to ask, doesn’t work on new Huawei phones :-(
Another app that’s worth a whirl, contribute to crowd computing calculations in aid COVID & cancer research, all whilst you sleep and charge your phone
https://www.vodafone.com/about/vodafone-foundation/focus-areas/dreamlab-app
How can it work with the pitifully amount of uptake to it more and more deleting it every day, was not updating for a month.
I use it but when I got covid it didn’t alert anyone around me that were using it…….
have your say