In England today, we’ve entered “stage two” of lockdown easing (huzzah!), which means (amongst other things) cafes, restaurants and pubs will be able to reopen today to serve outdoors. (If you’re living in Scotland or Wales, you’ll need to wait another couple of weeks, sorry.)
It might be a bit chilly, but if you’re heading out, I just wanted to remind you of how to use the NHS Covid-19 app to “check-in” to a venue. New rules mean that all over-16s will now have to check in, rather than just one from each party – so it’s well worth using the app if you have a smartphone.
So here’s a quick reminder of how the app works, how to put it on your phone if you don’t have it already and how to use it to “check in”:
- You can use the app on any Android phone running Android 6.0 or newer, or an iPhone running iOS 13 or 14 (that’s anything from the iPhone 7 onwards). If your phone’s older than that, you won’t be able to run the app, unfortunately.
- It’s free to download from the Play Store on an Android phone or the App Store on an iPhone. It’s called “NHS COVID-19”.
- Once you’ve installed it, it does need to connect to the internet sometimes, but all the major phone companies have agreed to make this free – it won’t use up your mobile data allowance.
- The app won’t ask you for any personal details – all you need to type in is the first part of your postcode.
- You can use the app to quickly register a visit to somewhere. So rather than having to give the venue your details, you can just check in by scanning an official NHS QR code – it looks a bit like a square barcode with wiggly patterns on it.
- To do that, open your Covid-19 app and tap “Check in to a venue”. Then just point your phone’s camera at the QR code. And that’s it.
Checking in with the app is really quick. You don’t have to put in any personal details – you literally just scan the QR code and job’s a good’n. Then if you need to be contacted, you’ll get a notification from the app.
Survive and Thrive in the Digital Age and Technology Help is at Hand
I just wanted to give you a last reminder about the two books we’ve updated this month. If you’re on the fence, thinking about maybe getting copies or wondering whether they might help you, now is the time to decide. Or at least to decide to have one on free trial so you can see what the fuss is about for yourself.
As I’ve said already, you just can’t avoid technology nowadays – so it’s best to know enough about it to know what affects you and to make the most of it. If you want to find the technology around you simpler, less frustrating and even less intimidating, why not have a read of the info about Survive and Thrive in the Digital Age and maybe order a copy, here.
And technology’s great when it’s working properly, but when the gadget gremlins strike, it really can drive you up the wall. That’s where Technology Help is at Hand comes in – you can read all about it, and order your copy, here.