TODAY, the NHS contact tracing app is rolled out to the Isle of Wight public and Islanders will be receiving letters telling them how to go about getting the app and the best ways to use it.

Download the app here.

Here health secretary Matt Hancock, in a special article written for the County Press, tells Islanders what it is all about.

"The coronavirus pandemic is one the most serious public health emergencies that our nation, and the Isle of Wight has ever faced.

The government is working resolutely to defeat the coronavirus, and we are making real progress in this mission.

Last week we met our ambitious target of 100,000 tests a day, a remarkable achievement from an incredible team.

However, this is not the end of our battle to beat this virus.

This increased testing capacity forms the first element of our plan to test and trace.

The aim of this is to hunt down and isolate the virus so it’s unable to reproduce, allowing us to take a more targeted approach to lockdown while still safely containing the disease.

This means we can get the rate of infection down, and hold it down.

Part of this work is our army of human contact tracers, who we are recruiting now, who can man the phones, find the contacts and offer support. By mid-May we will have an initial 18,000 contact tracers in place, and if we need more we will scale up as required.

This work will sit alongside our NHS contact tracing app, which as I am sure you are aware, we are about to roll out on the Isle of Wight.

This is going to be available to download from today (Thursday) and you will be receiving a letter and further information this week.

Once you’ve installed the app, it will start logging the distance between your phone and other phones with the app nearby.

If you become unwell with coronavirus symptoms you can inform the NHS via the app. Other app users that you’ve had significant contact with in the last few days will then be sent an alert by the NHS, along with advice about what to do.

It has been designed with a form of Bluetooth that conserves power so the app won’t drain your battery, and any information will be securely stored on your phone. Security is an important consideration for us and we have been working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre to get this right.

I was pleased to see that in a poll conducted by the County Press, 75 per cent of Islanders said they would be willing to use the app.

I am so grateful to the enthusiasm shown by Islanders, who know that by taking part in this pilot they are at the forefront of our plans to get Britain back on her feet.

We have seen magnificent support from local leaders, NHS workers and people all across the Island who are committed to making this project a success.

Your community presents the perfect environment to test the app; as it allows us to run the trial in scientifically controlled conditions. So your participation is essential if we are to find out what works and what doesn’t, and make the app better as a result.

Although this work is an important step in our response, I want to stress that this pilot does not mean the end of social distancing on the Isle of Wight.

Please do not venture out unnecessarily just because you are using the app; you should only leave the home for the essential reasons set out by the government. These are shopping for basic necessities, one form of exercise a day, any medical need, providing care to a vulnerable purpose and travelling for work, but only where you cannot work from home.

Over the past few weeks, I have been speaking to journalists from across the Island, it has been wonderful to hear how much interest there has been about the project, not just from the UK but around the world.

Please take part in this important trial — it will not only help your loved ones, and your local community, but the whole country.

When you look back at this important time in our history, you can say that you were pioneers, and that the Isle of Wight helped us to defeat coronavirus once and for all."

Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health.