The county’s director of public health warned that businesses will face a fine if they do not display an official NHS QR code poster or collect customer, visitor and staff contact details.

Dr Liz Robin, director of public health for Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “We all have a part to play in controlling the virus and saving lives.

“So, we want to make everyone aware of the new app and the importance for businesses to display QR code posters. “The app will allow services to know quicker if we’re at risk of the virus, so we can take action, fast, to protect our communities and loved ones.”

Dr Robin said that more people who use the app, the better it will work.

“And it will help us get ahead of the virus, preventing a second wave, further local lockdowns, and further disruption to the economy,” she said.

“I cannot emphasise enough how vitally important this is - if you do not collect the necessary details or display the poster you will be facing a fine.”

The warning follows the launch of an enhanced national NHS ‘test and trace’ app, which will be used to notify users if they come into contact with someone who later tests positive for coronavirus.

It will allow people to report symptoms, order a coronavirus test, check in to venues by scanning a QR code and help the NHS trace individuals that may have coronavirus.

Businesses, organisations and community venues are now required by national law to collect customer, visitor and staff contact detail logs, as well as displaying an official NHS QR code poster. Failure to collect these details or display the poster will result in fixed penalty fines.

To help ensure that the app works effectively, businesses and venues across the region are being encouraged to ensure they are displaying the official NHS QR code posters in readiness for the app launch.

The QR code posters can be downloaded online - the process is straightforward and will only take a few minutes to complete.

When someone enters a venue and scans a QR code poster, the venue information will be logged on the user’s phone.

The device will check if users have been at that location at the relevant time and if the app finds a match, users will get an alert anonymously with advice on what to do based on the level of risk.

More information, including what information businesses need to collect and how records should be maintained, can be found here