THE Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove says he hopes around 80,000 people on the Isle of Wight will download a trial app, designed to trace and track symptoms of coronavirus via our smartphones.
The Isle of Wight’s MP Bob Seely is hoping that half of the Isle of Wight’s residents will download and use the app during its trial on the Island this week.
It was good to speak to @SkyNews last night about imminent introduction of the @NHSDigital contact-tracing app on the #IsleofWight. I will be encouraging all fellow Islanders to download and use it. It will make us safer and allow us to help the rest of the country. @iwight https://t.co/Y1M8IxjIuq
— Bob Seely MP (@IoWBobSeely) May 4, 2020
Michael Gove told the daily press briefing yesterday (Sunday): “It is one arrow in the quiver. The more people who download the app the better”, saying it would be one of a series of measures designed to help the country move forward.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps had earlier revealed the plans for the Isle of Wight trial, on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.
WATCH: The BBC’s Andrew Marr show
This morning, it is reported that the app is anonymous and will not store personal data.
Using bluetooth, it will detect if the user has been in contact with someone else who has the app and has used it to report having coronavirus symptoms.
The app has not yet been made available to download.
Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely
Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that he welcomed the trial: “If we can get up to near 50 percent of Islanders using this app, we could be the first place to get rid of this wretched virus in the UK, because we will be hunting it down.”
On the Isle of Wight, 127 people have tested positive for Covid-19.
Read more: Four more coronavirus cases confirmed on the Isle of Wight
In all, 28 peope have died.
Read more: Further increase to Isle of Wight coronavirus death toll
Council Leader Dave Stewart said: "I am very pleased we can be the first place to use this new digital technology in the country.
"People who have been in contact with symptomatic individuals will be identified much earlier than is currently the case, and they will be provided with advice so they can act appropriately to protect themselves and our community.
“I really do think this is an amazing opportunity for the Isle of Wight and one I know residents will join with me in embracing.”
Concerns have been raised about the security and privacy of people using the app.
Isle of Wight Councillor Andrew Garratt warned it should be ‘ethical’ and called for more information about what is being tested, collected and stored.
He asked on Twitter what security measures were in place and what will happen if someone wants to stop using it.
Dominic Minghella, who has survived coronavirus and written about his experience, said he has concerns about security.
NHS virus app being discussed on @BBCr4today IS a trust issue, and massively so - questions around the company which got the contract, without tender, and it's possible links to Cummings and Vote Leave.
— Dominic Minghella (@DMinghella) May 4, 2020
App needs to be squeaky clean.
Squeakier than squeaky.
Read more: Isle of Wight's Dominic Minghella 'recovering' but 'traumatised'
Meanwhile, Islanders responded yesterday to claims by The Spectator magazine, over the weekend, that the Isle of Wight was not technologically geared up for the app.
Chair of the Isle of Wight Conservative Association, David Pugh called the claim 'absolute nonsense' and Labour’s Richard Quigley called it ‘irksome’.
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