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Hull fuel firm bans NHS test and trace app at work

BBC Petrol tanker outside Rix factoryBBC
The fuel supplier has asked workers to turn off Bluetooth on their mobile phones

A company has stopped workers from using the NHS Covid-19 test and trace app while at work.

Hull-based Rix Petroleum has asked staff not to switch on Bluetooth on their mobile phones.

The government app uses Bluetooth to notify people if they have come into contact with somebody who has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The company's managing director Rory Clarke defended the ban saying the firm had adequate safety measures in place.

"It's a very blunt weapon," he said.

"What I fear is that it's going to ask people, possibly repeatedly, to self-isolate for up to 14 days when they are not sick."

He added: "I think there is a place for using the app, but not in the workplace where it takes no account of the measures that we've put in place to restrict transmission."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We want as many people to download and use the app as possible and it is important to use the NHS Covid-19 app at all times unless in specific scenarios which are set out in our guidance."

The app was launched in England and Wales just over two weeks ago and there were more than 14 million downloads in its first week of use.

Anyone aged 16 and over is being asked to install it.

Last week, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) confirmed that officers were being told not to install the app on their work smartphones.

However, the NPCC has since approved the use of the app on personal devices.

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