The NHS contact tracing app is to be abandoned and replaced after an audit found it could detect just one in 25 contacts on Apple phones.
The App, which was trialled in the Isle of Wight
Speaking at the Daily Downing Street Press Conference the Health Secretary Matt Hancock said when it was trialled on the Isle of Wight, they found a technical problem, that other countries have encountered.
The app,he added, would not work because Apple would not change its system.
The government is now joining up with Apple to find a solution.
The idea behind the app was to track anybody that a person with coronavirus symptoms came into close contact with, using the Bluetooth connectivity on their smartphones.
But the ditched app designed by the government only recognised 4% of Apple phones and 75% of Google Android phones during the weeks of testing on the Isle of Wight.
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth has said the Government’s U-turn on it’s NHS tracing app wasted “precious time and money”.
He said: “This is unsurprising and yet another example of where the Government’s response has been slow and badly managed. It’s meant precious time and money wasted.
“For months tech experts warned ministers about the flaws in their app which is why we wrote to Matt Hancock encouraging the Government to consider digital alternatives back in May.
“Ministers must now urgently prioritise building a fully effective test, trace and isolate regime led by local expertise to break the chains of transmission of this deadly virus.”
