The UK’ National Health Service in collaboration with Google and Apple is developing a mobile app to track coronavirus. The technology arm of National Health Service is working on the project along with the two corporate giants, media reports said.
Apple and Google will release the tools required for software developers to build contact-tracing apps. In practice, the NHS app will have a built-in bluetooth technology to enable mobile phones users to track and record people who have come in with coronavirus. Then, the app will notify them to get a test done.
It is reported that the phone’s location data will be used to record the user’s whereabouts in the last few days. Matt Hancock, health secretary, told the media at the daily Downing Street press conference, “If you become unwell with the symptoms of coronavirus, you can securely tell this new NHS app and the app will then send an alert anonymously to other app users that you’ve been in significant contact with over the past few days, even before you had symptoms so that they know and can act accordingly.”
The data generated from the app will abide by the country’s security standards. In addition, the data will only be used for NHS care and research, media reports said. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey told the media, “Any proposal on the use of mobile phone data or other technology to track people must also be scrutinized properly by MPs before a final decision is made, further strengthening our argument that Parliament should be recalled urgently.”