Government confirms plans for contact tracing app

14 Apr 2020 04:32 PM

What role can digital contact tracing play in helping countries put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Since the first cases of COVID-19 emerged late last year, governments and health authorities around the world have identified digital contact tracing as a potential means of containing the spread of the novel coronavirus.  

Over the Easter weekend, Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that the UK Government was working on one such project to create a Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform.

It is understood that the plan is for people that have symptoms of COVID-19, but are not diagnosed, to input that information into an app, which will then send an alert anonymously to other users they have been in close contact with. A different warning will be sent to those coming into contact with confirmed cases, process that will reportedly be based on a verification code that a person would receive along with their COVID-19 diagnosis.

It is believed that downloading the app will not be compulsory, with a clear explanation of the use, storage and deletion of data being made available to users. Identity will be protected through technology randomising user data, which will only be stored in NHS databases for purposes and duration of COVID-19.

Engagement with the public has now started to explore their views and concerns, as well as testing in undisclosed locations in the north of England.

“All data will be handled according to the highest ethical and security standards, and would only be used for NHS care and research. And we won't hold it any longer than is needed,” Hancock said during the Government’s daily COVID-19 press briefings.

Cambridge University Professor Ross Anderson, who is being consulted on the privacy and security of the project, noted that the experiences of Taiwan and South Korea showed that “transparency is the key to public acceptance”.

MI5 former head Lord Evans cautioned that public trust will be gained and retained only if “the right controls and accountability are in place”, while Equality and Human Rights Commission Chief Executive Rebecca Hilsenrath echoed his comments in a statement for the Guardian.

While such a platform could help countries as they seek to relax lockdown measures, experts including Professor Anderson have raised questions and concerns about their role. In Singapore, for instance, 1 in 5 people have reportedly downloaded the TraceTogether platform as of 10 April. For the NHS app to work as envisaged, it is thought that around 60% of the population would need to download and use it here.

Last week, Apple and Google announced an unprecedented collaboration to enable the use of Bluetooth technology in efforts to reduce the spread of the virus. In May, the companies are expected to release APIs enabling interoperability between Android and iOS devices using apps from public health authorities. They are also working on a broader solution to build the functionality into the underlying platforms.