The UK government admitted on Monday that its coronavirus tracing app had been delayed, having missed its deadline for a nationwide rollout by the middle of May.
The NHS has developed its own app for tracing contacts of those who test positive for coronavirus or are suspected of having the disease; the programme is currently undergoing trials on the Isle of Wight.
It had been due to be rolled out across the rest of the UK by “mid-May” but Downing Street said on Monday the technology may not be ready for some weeks.
Tracing apps and widespread testing have become an important tools for governments around the world as they ease lockdown restrictions to kick-start economic activity at the same time as avoiding a second spike in infections.
Later on Monday health secretary Matt Hancock announced coronavirus testing would be opened up to anyone in the UK above the age of five. He said the wider testing regime would mean “ever more people will have the confidence and certainty that comes with an accurate test result”.
Prime minister Boris Johnson's spokesman declined to state why the mid-May target — set by Mr Hancock — had been missed and refused to say when the NHS app would be ready for full operational use. “It remains our aim to roll out the app across the country in the coming weeks,” he said.
Speaking at the Downing Street press conference, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: “It’s still our intention to roll out across the country in the weeks ahead. We’re making pretty good progress with it. I can't be any more precise than that.”
Downing Street also refused to rule out the possibility that Britain could switch tracks from its homegrown solution — developed by NHSX, the digital arm of the health service — in favour of an alternative platform being developed by Google and Apple.
Whereas the UK’s solution relies on a centralised database for holding personal data, the Google and Apple system is largely decentralised and prevents gathering of additional data, such as location, that might be used to identify individuals.
The US tech firms are working with health authorities in several European countries including Germany and Italy to build contact-tracing technology into their mobile operating systems.
When asked about reconfiguring the NHS app to use Google and Apple’s technology, the prime minister’s spokesperson said the government kept “all options under review to make sure the app is as effective as possible”.
It is unknown what has changed to delay the roll out of the NHS app, which was due to be ready by now.
But one senior official at the Department of Health said the government was “still getting the feedback from the app” and the rest of the tracing regime “was still on track for delivery”.
“The plan remains to push ahead with the current centralised version of the app which gives the best public health outcomes,” the individual said.
The government’s plan for easing the lockdown is due to enter its next phase on June 1, when it is proposing that primary schools in England should reopen to more pupils, among other measures. Downing Street said on Monday it is ready to proceed to a new “test and trace” system without the new app being available nationally.
Mr Hancock also said on Monday that 21,000 people had been recruited for a human tracing army to contact and advise those who may be at risk of contracting the virus.
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2020-05-18 22:31:37Z
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