A coronavirus app which alerts people if they have recently been in contact with someone testing positive for the virus “could play a critical role” in limiting lockdowns, scientists advising the government have said.
The location-tracking tech would enable a week’s worth of manual detective work to be done in an instant, they say. The academics say no-one should be forced to enroll - at least initially.
U.K. health chiefs have confirmed they are exploring the idea.
The study by the team at the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute and Nuffield Department of Medicine was published in the journal Science.
Leo Kelion writes for the BBC that the study proposes that an app would record people’s GPS location data as they move about their daily lives. This would be supplemented by users scanning QR (quick response) codes posted to public amenities in places where a GPS signal is inadequate, as well as Bluetooth signals.
If a person starts feeling ill, it is suggested they use the app to request a home test. And if it comes back positive for Covid-19, then an instant signal would be sent to everyone they had been in close contact with over recent days.