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Coronavirus pandemic
A new Covid-19 contact tracing app will launch in England and Wales on September 24, the government announced.
The app will allow people to scan barcode-like QR codes to record visits to hospitality venues and will implement Apple and Google’s method of detecting other smartphones.
Businesses are requested to display posters with QR codes to support the application.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the launch as “a watershed moment.”
“We need to use all the tools at our disposal to control the spread of the virus, including the latest technology,” he said.
“The launch of the app later this month in England and Wales is a watershed moment and will help our ability to contain the virus at a critical time.”
Some hospitality venues have already been using their own QR code-based systems for testing and tracking, but are now being asked to switch to the NHS version.
Universities, hospitals, entertainment venues, civic centers, and libraries are asked to put up posters in common areas such as cafes, where people gather for more than 15 minutes.
An alternative system, such as a handwritten record, should also be maintained for visitors who do not have smartphones, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
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Welsh Health and Social Services Minister Vaughan Gething said launching a joint app with England was “the most practical option”.
He added that the measure reflects “a movement across our shared border.”
“It makes sense to use the same application, which works exactly the same way, regardless of the country you are in.”
She has had a long and troubled gestation, but the team behind the NHS COVID-19 app hope they have finally gotten it right at a time when it can make a significant contribution to limiting the spread of the virus.
In April, an app appeared to be a key weapon in the government’s arsenal, but since Baroness Dido Harding took over the Test and Trace program, it has been relegated to the “icing on the cake.”
All over the world there are still doubts among those who work on contact tracing applications about how good Bluetooth is as a way of measuring distance between people.
But the fact that pubs, restaurants, and other hospitality businesses are now being told that they have to do a better job of recording visitor contact details presents an opportunity.
Now they can see that having QR codes for visitors is a simple way to comply with the rules, and that could encourage adoption of the app.
The Protect Scotland app informs people if they have been in close contact with someone who then tests positive.
In England, from Monday, social gatherings will be limited to a maximum of six people, in a move called “the rule of six.”
Scotland and Wales, which along with Northern Ireland have delegated powers to set their own coronavirus restrictions, also reduced the size of social gatherings to six people as of Monday.
In Scotland, children under 12 will not count towards the total, and in Wales the rule will not apply to children under 11 and up to 30 people can still gather outside.
The new measures followed a sustained increase in coronavirus cases, with more than 2,000 positive cases recorded across the UK for five consecutive days this week.
