Contact tracing app for Covid-19 could be rolled out in two to three weeks, says developer

A man wearing a face mask looks at his phone on Primrose Hill on April 11 as the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) continues, in London, Britain. The app, and wider testing and tracking programme, is seen as key to help easing social distancing restrictions in Britain, which have all but shut the economy and stopped people going about their daily lives. — Reuters

LONDON: A contact-tracing app designed to let people know if they have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 could be rolled out widely in Britain in two to three weeks, a senior official said on April 28.

Matthew Gould, chief executive of the National Health Service's technology group NHSX, told a parliamentary committee that the app, which will notify contacts if a person tests positive for Covid-19, would first be tested locally.