Executive Chair of NHS Test and Trace encourages public, businesses and organisations to “play their part in new national effort” by providing names and phone numbers with venues and businesses they visit from this Saturday
- New guidance published for hospitality and leisure sector sets out how organisations can keep a secure, short-term record of staff and visitors as they reopen this weekend
- Restaurants, museums, and places of worship among venues asked to help visitors and employees stay safe
Businesses and organisations are being told to collect contact details of their visitors as their venues reopen this Saturday, to help the NHS Test and Trace service in the national effort to contain and prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The steps include:
- Collecting the names, and phone numbers of all staff working at the premises, as well as the date and time they worked
- Making a record of the name and contact phone number of any customers or visitors, or if it is a group of people, the name of the lead member of the group, who is able to contact other members of the group, and the number of people in the group
- Recording the date, arrival and departure time of all visitors or visiting groups
- Storing the information for 21 days, after which should be safely deleted
Executive Chair of NHS Test and Trace, Baroness Dido Harding said:
As we get ready to enjoy the additional freedoms that are coming this weekend, its vital that we keep up the amazing work that everyone has done across the country to protect their friends, family and communities from the spread of the virus.
Thanks to the information members of the public are already sharing, NHS Test and Trace has already helped contact over 130,000 people who may otherwise have transmitted coronavirus.
The virus has not gone, but we can live more safely alongside it. As we all start to visit more places and come into contact with a wider group of people in the coming weeks, we now need businesses and the public to play their part in this new national effort by sharing their contact details. That way, if someone does test positive our dedicated team at NHS Test and Trace can quickly spring-into-action to contact those who may be at risk and advise them to self-isolate, helping everyone stay safe.
The details visitors share must be stored securely and handled in line with GDPR regulations. They will only be shared, if asked, with the NHS Test and Trace service to manage local coronavirus outbreaks if they occur.
Locations encouraged to collect data
- hospitality, including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés
- tourism and leisure, including hotels, museums, cinemas, zoos and theme parks
- close contact services, including hairdressers, and others as defined here
- facilities provided by local authorities, including town halls and civic centres for events, community centres, libraries and children’s centres
- places of worship, including use for events and other community activities
PAYadvice.UK 3/7/2020
