Users reported receiving a message telling them to self-isolate because they had been in contact with a person who tested positive.
The message read: ‘Possible COVID-19 exposure. Someone you were near reported having COVID-19. exposure date, duration and signal strength have been saved.’
However, when they clicked on the app, the notification disappeared.
The government has confirmed the message was a test, though users were not informed of that at the time.
One furious man, Maurice Leaver, hit out at the farce and said he had been forced to wrongly self-isolate after receiving the message.