NHS contact tracing app launches for over-16s

Those aged 16+ in England and Wales are being urged by the government to download the contact-tracing app following its official release. NHS Covid-19 demands users to self-isolate for 14 days if it detects they were near anyone who has the virus.

There is also a check-in scanner to alert users if they’ve been to a venue which is found to be an outbreak hotspot. Anyone aged 16 and over is being asked to install the app on to their smartphone.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the app serves to track down a greater number of people who are prone to having Covid-19.

He said it "helps us to find more people who are at risk of having the virus" that human contact tracers are unable to find.

Mr Hancock added: "Everybody who downloads the app will be helping to protect themselves, helping to protect their loved ones, helping to protect their community because the more people who download it, the more effective it will be."

It’s worth noting that the app respects the privacy and keeps secret who receives a self-isolation alert.

The Department of Health had earlier said that it’s compulsory to obey the self-isolation command, and those who break it could, in theory, be liable for fines of £1,000 or more if they did not. But they acknowledged there’s no way to check, which sums up their handling of this situation perfectly.