Call 119
Anyone who has coronavirus symptoms can get a test by calling 119.
The test and trace scheme relies on people reporting their symptoms and following instructions from the NHS.
Contact Tracing app switch to Google/Apple
In a major U-turn, the UK is ditching the way its current coronavirus-tracing app works and shifting to a model based on technology provided by Apple and Google.
For further details visit the BBC website, click on the picture above.
Minister says app should roll out by winter
A government minister has said that the NHS coronavirus contact-tracing app is "not a priority" and he was not sure it would be out by winter.
For further details visit the BBC website, click on the picture above.
Contact Tracing App Update
The UK Contact Tracing App (see below for details) will roll-out in late June/July.
News that the full UK test and trace programme might not be up and running until September has led some to think this applies to the NHS contact-tracing app, rather than the wider manual tracing effort.
The confusion is understandable but the app, which has indeed suffered a number of delays, should still be rolled out nationwide by late June or early July - although there is no guarantee that the timetable won’t slip further.
After a first trial of the app with very limited capabilities on the Isle of Wight, version two - which features five questions about symptoms instead of two and integrates the testing process - is undergoing testing at a secret location in London. This version will then be launched as an update for Isle of Wight residents next week.
But when that local trial becomes a national rollout is not clear.
What is a close contact?
Only people who have been "close" to an infected person will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace.
Close contacts are people who you have
spent 15 minutes or more with, at a distance of less than 2.0 metres or
had direct contact with - such as sexual partners, household members or people with whom you have had face-to-face conversations at a distance of less than 1.0 meter.
The contact must have taken place between two days before and up to seven days after symptoms appeared.
How Manual Contact Tracing Works
How The Contact Tracing App Works
