I posted this as a long thread on Twitter. Reposting here for completeness.

I've been notified of a close contact by the COVID19 app. On the the 20th, the only time I went out for long enough was dinner. We (wife+kids) sat at the only outdoor seat of a restaurant. I assume someone inside the restaurant or maybe the bar next door is the contact...

First off, the app only notified me because I opened it. It does not check in the background. Another friend opened it after hearing about this and was immediately notified of a contact. The app has been broken since the start and the developers have been told multiple times...

Anyway, it seems pretty unlikely that I am infected but I did go inside to use the toilet and pay the bill with mask on. I have a bit of a rough throat since last night but that could just be the changing weather...

I phoned the number, gave all the details and now I have an appointment to get a saliva PCR test in 48 hours!

All relatively smooth. Mostly in Japanese. I started with the English helpline last night but they just gave me the number for the Japanese one. |If my Japanese was worse, I don't know what would have happened.

Also, I have to pay for the test (3000Y)! My Japanese is not good enough to have a fight on the phone but I thought this should be free.

More problematic is the outcome...

I'm the only one being tested because I'm the only one with symptoms. Is the app meaningless? They should be testing all or none. Has Japan stopped believing in asymptomatic spread again?

If they actually think I'm at risk, this is day 6-7 which can be highly infectious. Why let me sit at home with my family for another 48 hours before testing? If I'm being tested, I should be tested ASAP, not in 48 hours.

@nishiurah

Also, I was given no instructions about isolating, no questions about my kids' school or my wife. From a test-trace-isolate perspective, this is useless.

Results takes a day or two, so maybe 96 hours from now, I will know.

If my kids are infected then they were probably spreading in school on Thu/Fri but with this policy, the earliest they would even be tested would be if my result comes back positive on Wednesday. By then their contacts from last week will already be spreading...

Urgency and aggressive testing is the difference between winning and losing this war. Japan is asleep at the wheel. If winter and economic opening brings a spike in cases, this attitude to testing will be completely ineffective and a big shutdown will be required.

#COVID19