Businesses and organisations are now being asked to collect contact details of their visitors as their venues reopen.
The records will help NHS Test and Trace to reach anyone who may at a later date be found to have potentially been in contact with a positive coronavirus case whilst at a particular venue, helping to quickly contact people at risk of the virus and prevent localised outbreaks before they occur.
The details visitors share must be stored securely and handled in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). They will only be shared, if asked, with the NHS Test and Trace service to manage local coronavirus outbreaks if they occur.
While the government continues to encourage everyone to play their part to curb the virus, if a member of the public does not wish to share their contact details, it is not mandatory.
The Department of Health and Social Care has published guidelines setting out the steps pubs, restaurants, cinemas and similar venues can all take to support the service.
They 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.