NHS developing virus-tracing app that could shorten Coronavirus lockdown
A COVID-19 app that alerts users if they have come into contact with someone who has the virus, could be made available to the public, government scientists have said.
Currently, the NHS is discussing the app, with the NHSX, the health service’s digital and innovation unit, in charge of overseeing the project.
The app itself will operate on an ‘opt-in’ basis.
Government scientists have stated the app “could play a critical role” in limiting the UK’s lockdown duration.
According to the NHSX and academics, the app is weeks away from live download and would need over 50% of the population to register for effective use.
Researchers from Oxford’s Big Data Institute and Nuffield Department of Population Health have deduced the spread of the virus is “too fast to be contained by manual contact tracing, but could be controlled if this process was faster, more efficient, and happened at scale”.
The app works by logging how close users are to one another using Bluetooth. Users are asked to upload positive Coronavirus tests and reports of any Coronavirus symptoms. After upload, the app scans all contact the individual has been in close proximity to within the past seven days, and alerts users evaluated to be at risk.
NHSX have made plans to appoint an Ethics Board to oversee the project, and have said board members will be identified over the coming weeks.
However, the view of handing over health and location details to the government has already raised concerns amongst privacy campaigners and data protection advocates; prompting questions over whether any board of ethics would be independent. There were also concerns over the app’s safeguards.