Government announces NHS coronavirus app to be trialled on Isle of Wight
AN APP that will alert people if they’ve come close to someone diagnosed with coronavirus will be tested on the Isle of Wight this week.
In the government’s daily briefing, secretary of state for health, Matt Hancock, announced that an app has been developed for the NHS which will help to test, track and trace coronavirus cases across the UK.
The pilot scheme is being trialled on the Isle of Wight, first among health professionals and then with other islanders later in the week.
Through the app – which is reported to assign random IDs to protect people's identity – people can report if they are experiencing symptoms of coronavirus.
Using bluetooth technology, an alert will be sent to people who’ve been in ‘significant’ contact with that individual, who will be kept anonymous.
It is hoped that this app will be a major step forward in the fight against the virus, which has so far claimed the lives of 28,734 people in the UK.
Speaking in Downing Street this afternoon, Matt Hancock said the app allows the government to ‘hunt down and isolate’ coronavirus.
He said: ‘From tomorrow we will begin to pilot [this app] on the Isle of Wight.
‘If you become unwell with coronavirus symptoms, you inform the NHS via the app – other app users who you have been in significant contact with will be sent an alert along with advice about what to do.
‘A test ordering function will then be built in.’
Of the 190,584 cases across the UK, there have been 294 in Portsmouth.
Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage who worked alongside Matt Hancock during her stint at the Department of Health, said: ‘I think it’s incredible to see what technology has to offer us.
‘Personally I’m really excited about it – this has been in the pipeline practically since lockdown began and I look forward to seeing how it pans out.
‘It’s great that it’s being tested just across the water but it will need the public to use it for it to work.’