The British Government are set to test out the NHS contact tracing app on the island this week. The Government needs at least 50 percent of the population of the Isle of Wight to use the app for the trial to provide an accurate reflection. Mr Gove called on the Isle of Wight residents to help the UK and take part in the trial by downloading the app.
ITV's Dan Hewitt asked: "On the NHS contact tracing app that is being trailed on the Isle of Wight this week, given you need 50 to 60 percent of the entire population to download this app when it is up and running, how central will it be to the Government’s policy?"
Mr Gove replied: "When it comes to contract tracing the more people that download the app that has been developed by the NHS the better.
"There are some 80,000 households on the Isle of Wight and we would like to see more than half of households if we can sign up to the app.
"But it is striking how public spirited people have been throughout this crisis.
"I know that this is a contribution that all of us can make to help keep our neighbours safe.
"It is a very powerful incentive.
"The leader of the Isle of Wight’s council and the excellent Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely have both said that they believe it is in the interest of the island and the country that as many people as possible sign up to the app."
At the time of writing, Britain has the fourth-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world.
Worldwide there have been more than 3,500,000 COVID-19 cases at the time of writing.
The death toll has reached more than 245,000 at the time of writing.
More than 1,100,000 people have recovered from the coronavirus across the globe.
The United States has the highest amount of COVID-19 cases in the world with more than 1,100,000 confirmed cases.
Medical workers take swabs at a drive-thru coronavirus testing station in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures ResortCredit: PA:Press Association
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Britain is edging closer to becoming the worst affected in Europe, with the coronavirus-hit Italy's death toll currently sitting at 28,710.
The figures published today by NHS England show April 8 continues to have the highest number for the most hospital deaths occurring on a single day, with a current total of 867.
There have been a further five confirmed deaths of patients who tested positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, according to the Department of Health - bringing the total numbers of deaths in the region to 381.
In Wales, a further 14 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths to 983.
Another 174 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 10,329.
And in Scotland, a total of 1,571 patients have died after testing positive for coronavirus, an increase of 12 since Saturday.
Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman announced that 12,097 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, a rise of 170 from 11,927 the day before.
Mr Gove revealed the figures in tonight's No10 briefing.
Experts think Britain's peak happened in mid-April, and they expect the numbers to continue to fall overall.
The lower the number of new cases and deaths is, the better a new track and trace approach will be when it's rolled out in the middle of the next month.
It is being tested through a pilot study on the Isle of Wight this coming week, The Sun revealed last week.
The Government will in the coming weeks ask everyone to download a new app, which will let users know if they have been in contact with anyone who has tested positive.
Ministers are recruiting 18,000 tracers to track cases as they get ready to lift lockdown measures in the coming weeks.
6
Michael Gove revealed the drop in testing figures todayCredit: Sky News
Mr Gove also unveiled new testing figures today, showing there has been a huge drop in the number of tests that have taken place in the last 24 hours.
The Cabinet minister blamed the weekend, where fewer people work, as part of the reason for the fall.
He said: "You might expect over a weekend, with fewer people going to work, a dip in the amount of testing taking place. "I don't think it detracts from the amazing achievement of the NHS in increasing the amount of tests that are available."
Mr Gove also stressed that a localised approach to the lockdown could be used in future to help in a new strategy to contain new outbreaks. It may mean that areas with fewer cases get to lift measures sooner, and if there's a new outbreak, then only local lockdowns may be required again. He said: "A phased approach will allow us to phase in measures and pause or reintroduce those restrictions that might be required in local areas to cope with the disease". The Cabinet minister admitted there would have to be some form of lockdown rules in place until Britain gets access to a vaccine.
And he warned the country not to expect huge and sudden changes like switching on a light.
6
The number of tests has taken a tumble over the weekend, down to below 100,000
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Medical workers take swabs at a drive-thru coronavirus testing station in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures ResortCredit: PA:Press Association
2
Britain is edging closer to becoming the worst affected in Europe, with the coronavirus-hit Italy's death toll currently sitting at 28,710.
DEADLY TOLL
The figures published today by NHS England show April 8 continues to have the highest number for the most hospital deaths occurring on a single day, with a current total of 867.
There have been a further five confirmed deaths of patients who tested positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, according to the Department of Health - bringing the total numbers of deaths in the region to 381.
In Wales, a further 14 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths to 983.
Another 174 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 10,329.
And in Scotland, a total of 1,571 patients have died after testing positive for coronavirus, an increase of 12 since Saturday.
Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman announced that 12,097 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, a rise of 170 from 11,927 the day before.
The PM told The Sun on Sunday he was given “litres and litres of oxygen” to keep him alive.
He added: “It was a tough old moment, I won’t deny it. They had a strategy to deal with a ‘death of Stalin’-type scenario.
"I was not in particularly brilliant shape and I was aware there were contingency plans in place.
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BRITAIN’s four million NHS staff are on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.
But while they are helping save lives, who is there to help them?
The Sun has launched an appeal to raise £1MILLION for NHS workers. The Who Cares Wins Appeal aims to get vital support to staff in their hour of need.
We have teamed up with NHS Charities Together in their urgent Covid-19 Appeal to ensure the money gets to exactly who needs it.
The Sun is donating £50,000 and we would like YOU to help us raise a million pounds, to help THEM. No matter how little you can spare, please donate today here: www.thesun.co.uk/whocareswinsappeal.
“The doctors had all sorts of arrangements for what to do if things went badly wrong.
“They gave me a face mask so I got litres and litres of oxygen and for a long time I had that and the little nose jobbie.”
The stark reality of his plight quickly struck home when he was wired up to monitors and moved into intensive care.
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Worried Brits do NOT want lockdown lifted & schools & pubs to reopen, poll says
BUBBLE'S BURST
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DEATH-FREE ZONES
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Live Blog
COVID CRISIS
Death toll hits 28,446 after 315 more die but numbers continue to fall
He told how “the bloody indicators kept going in the wrong direction” and he realised there was no cure for Covid-19.
During his life-or-death struggle at St Thomas’ Hospital last month, Boris kept asking himself: “How am I going to get out of this?”
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS - STAY IN THE KNOW
Don't miss the latest news and figures - and essential advice for you and your family.
The number of people who have died with coronavirus in UK hospitals, care homes and the wider community has risen by 315, bringing the total number of fatalities to 28,446.
The Department of Health figures were offered by cabinet minister Michael Gove during Sunday's news briefing.
In England, the number of people who have died with the virus in hospitals has risen by 327 to 21,180. These figures are calculated over a different time period.
In Northern Ireland, five more people have died with COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths to 381.
A further 14 people have died in Wales, taking the total number of deaths there to 983, Public Health Wales said.
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Scotland deaths have risen by 12 to 1,571, with a total of 60,295 people being tested for the virus.
Mr Gove revealed that 76,496 coronavirus tests were carried out in the 24 hours to 9am this morning, bringing the total to 1,206,405.
More from Coronavirus
He said more than 200,000 key workers and their families had been tested for the virus and the criteria for testing had been extended beyond key workers to anyone over 65 displaying symptoms and anyone who has to travel to work.
Mr Gove confirmed that Britain will trial a new coronavirus tracking programme next week on the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England in a bid to minimise the risk of a second wave of the infection.
"This week we will be piloting new test, track and trace procedures on the Isle of Wight with a view to having that in place more widely later this month," he told the news conference.
Sunday's official figures come after transport secretary Grant Shapps admitted that fewer Britons would have died from coronavirus if more tests had been available earlier.
Speaking on Andrew Marr this morning, he said "many things" could have been different if the UK's testing capacity was above 100,000 before COVID-19 spread in the country.
He added: "The fact of the matter is this is not a country that had - although we're very big in pharmaceuticals as a country - we're not a country that had very large test capacity."
Mr Shapps said the NHSX contact tracing app, which will be rolled out later this month, requires 50%-60% of people to use for it to be successful.
Meanwhile, prime minister Boris Johnson has pledged to set out a "comprehensive plan" on how to ease the lockdown on Thursday, when the government is due to review the measures.
Mr Shapps told Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday: "I don't think we should expect us to go from this situation that we have at the moment of social distancing back to where we were in February - that's clearly not going to happen and I don't think anyone imagines that for one moment."
Mr Shapps told the Andrew Marr Show that the government was looking at a range of options for people to travel to work, including encouraging what he described as a "massive expansion" in interest in "active travel" such as cycling or walking.
"There are a series of different things that we can do including staggering work times, working with businesses and organisations to do that," he said.
He also said he was working with train companies and unions on maintaining social distancing rules on platforms and at bus stops.
Hand sanitiser could also be made available and one-way systems for passengers introduced, he told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
Analysis
By Jonathan Blake, political correspondent
With polls suggesting a relatively high level of support and compliance with lockdown measures, ministers will need to tread carefully.
Nobody is expecting restrictions to be lifted overnight and life to return to normal - far from it.
But the mantra for people to "stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives" appears to have worked well.
A new message may have to be more nuanced, if more people are able to return to work and businesses are encouraged to adapt.
Signalling to the public that the time is right to take a step out of lockdown will also require convincing them it is safe to do so.
Thursday, when the government is legally required to review the restrictions, will be the day we find out what comes next.
Business groups and unions received draft government guidelines on a safe return to work on Sunday, and have until 21:00 BST to respond.
Mr Shapps said with testing now available to all staff and residents, infection rates were now falling in care homes as well as other parts of the community.
For that reason, he said he hoped the country would avoid care homes transmitting the virus back into the rest of society.
He was responding to a report in the Independent that Prof Keith Willett, NHS England's strategic director for Covid-19, warned on Thursday that care homes were expected to be the "epicentres of transmission" in the next few weeks. Nearly 30% of care homes have experienced an outbreak.
Asked whether fewer people would have died if testing capacity had been greater sooner, he said: "Yes.
"If we had had 100,000 test capacity before this thing started and the knowledge that we now have retrospectively I'm sure many things could be different."
But he said that although the UK has a big pharmaceuticals industry, it does not have a testing industry like Germany's, making it more difficult to increase test numbers.
Defending the decision not to close airports or introduce screening for international arrivals earlier in the pandemic, Mr Shapps said the advice was that a "complete lockdown of the borders" might only have delayed the virus by three to five days.
"We had millions of people abroad who needed to return home," he said.
But he said that now the infection rate was falling to a more manageable level, plans for screening and quarantining people travelling to the UK from abroad were "a serious point under consideration".
Representative body Airlines UK said a 14-day quarantine period would "effectively kill air travel".
Chief executive Tim Alderslade said it would be a "blunt tool measure" that would "completely shut off the UK from the rest of the world when other countries are opening up their economies".
"What the UK should be doing is leading internationally with health and aviation authorities on common standards, including health screening, which will enable our sector to restart and give people assurances that it's safe to travel", he said.
A group of experts put together by former government chief scientific adviser Sir David King will look at how the lockdown could be eased. Sir David said the group was designed to act as an alternative to the government's own advisers
Mr Shapps told the Andrew Marr Show that the government was looking at a range of options for people to travel to work, including encouraging what he described as a "massive expansion" in interest in "active travel" such as cycling or walking.
"There are a series of different things that we can do including staggering work times, working with businesses and organisations to do that," he said.
He also said he was working with train companies and unions on maintaining social distancing rules on platforms and at bus stops.
Hand sanitiser could also be made available and one-way systems for passengers introduced, he told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
Analysis
By Jonathan Blake, political correspondent
With polls suggesting a relatively high level of support and compliance with lockdown measures, ministers will need to tread carefully.
Nobody is expecting restrictions to be lifted overnight and life to return to normal - far from it.
But the mantra for people to "stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives" appears to have worked well.
A new message may have to be more nuanced, if more people are able to return to work and businesses are encouraged to adapt.
Signalling to the public that the time is right to take a step out of lockdown will also require convincing them it is safe to do so.
Thursday, when the government is legally required to review the restrictions, will be the day we find out what comes next.
Business groups and unions received draft government guidelines on a safe return to work on Sunday, and have until 21:00 BST to respond.
Mr Shapps said with testing now available to all staff and residents, infection rates were now falling in care homes as well as other parts of the community.
For that reason, he said he hoped the country would avoid care homes transmitting the virus back into the rest of society.
He was responding to a report in the Independent that Prof Keith Willett, NHS England's strategic director for Covid-19, warned on Thursday that care homes were expected to be the "epicentres of transmission" in the next few weeks. Nearly 30% of care homes have experienced an outbreak.
Asked whether fewer people would have died if testing capacity had been greater sooner, he said: "Yes.
"If we had had 100,000 test capacity before this thing started and the knowledge that we now have retrospectively I'm sure many things could be different."
But he said that although the UK has a big pharmaceuticals industry, it does not have a testing industry like Germany's, making it more difficult to increase test numbers.
Defending the decision not to close airports or introduce screening for international arrivals earlier in the pandemic, Mr Shapps said the advice was that a "complete lockdown of the borders" might only have delayed the virus by three to five days.
"We had millions of people abroad who needed to return home," he said.
But he said that now the infection rate was falling to a more manageable level, plans for screening and quarantining people travelling to the UK from abroad were "a serious point under consideration".
Representative body Airlines UK said a 14-day quarantine period would "effectively kill air travel".
Chief executive Tim Alderslade said it would be a "blunt tool measure" that would "completely shut off the UK from the rest of the world when other countries are opening up their economies".
"What the UK should be doing is leading internationally with health and aviation authorities on common standards, including health screening, which will enable our sector to restart and give people assurances that it's safe to travel", he said.
A group of experts put together by former government chief scientific adviser Sir David King will look at how the lockdown could be eased. Sir David said the group was designed to act as an alternative to the government's own advisers
The latest figures come after transport secretary Grant Shapps admitted that fewer Britons would have died from coronavirus if more tests had been available earlier.
Speaking on Andrew Marr, he said "many things" could have been different if the UK's testing capacity was above 100,000 before COVID-19 spread in the country.
He added: "The fact of the matter is this is not a country that had - although we're very big in pharmaceuticals as a country - we're not a country that had very large test capacity."
Mr Shapps also confirmed the NHSX contact tracing app will be trialled on the Isle of Wight this week before being rolled out later this month.
He said the app would need 50%-60% of people to use for it to be successful.
Meanwhile, prime minister Boris Johnson has pledged to set out a "comprehensive plan" on how to ease the lockdown on Thursday, when the government is due to review the measures.
Mr Shapps told Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday: "I don't think we should expect us to go from this situation that we have at the moment of social distancing back to where we were in February - that's clearly not going to happen and I don't think anyone imagines that for one moment."
