COVID-19 app flaw prevents people claiming £500 grant for self-isolating.

People told to isolate by the contact-tracing app are not able to claim government financial support, Sky News has learned,.

It raises fears that low-paid workers will be forced to choose between health and hardship.

Workers with low incomes on benefits are entitled to receive £500 if they cannot work from home while they self-isolate.

But a hidden flaw in the process for claiming the payment means they can only claim the support if they are given a code by a human contact tracer.

Someone who tests positive for coronavirus and receives their result through the app can get the payment because they will be referred to NHS Test and Trace for manual contact tracing by telephone call.

But anyone who is told to isolate by the app for people in England and Wales because they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 cannot claim the payment, even if they are entitled to it because the app's privacy-protecting design means their identity remains secret.

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