UK Covid-19 app could aggravate inequalities, advisers warned

The UK’s National Health Service has been testing its own app (pic) on the Isle of Wight, ahead of a wider release to the rest of the country by mid-May. Only half the population have downloaded that app. A recent University of Oxford study said 80% of smartphone users need to participate in the program for it to be effective, the equivalent of 56% of the general population. — Britain's Department of Health/AFP

The UK’s contact-tracing app could exacerbate inequalities in Britain’s society, an ethics board warned ahead of a roll-out of the software.

In a letter dated April 24, and since published online, highlighted data suggesting that 21% of British adults don’t use a smartphone, something essential for using the app.