'People will have to self-declare' if they are at risk of coronavirus, Matt Hancock says of Test and Trace app
The government's coronavirus Test and Trace app will rely on individuals "self-declaring" they are at risk of infection, Matt Hancock has said.
Speaking on ITV's Peston Show, the health secretary said: "If the app says you are at risk, it will be your responsibility to call the NHS and to quarantine."
Data from the app will not, he said, be held centrally and so "the NHS and the government won't know if you get an automatic alert".
The government recently abandoned its plans to set up its own tracing app switching instead to technology used by Apple and Google.
Plans for the app have been beset with delays, concerns about privacy, and complaints about inaccuracy.
Clearing up the reason for the switch to different technology, Mr Hancock said the app that had been in trials had not been able to transmit information to the state reliably.
He added: "The question is when the information is transmitted to the state, and that will be based on the Apple/Google API and their way of doing things.
"You know, we wanted to do it differently because then the NHS can spot flare ups. That functionality isn't available."
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The technology will, however, rely on users of the app to notify authorities they have received an alert that they are at risk - meaning it will be up to individuals to "self-declare".
Mr Hancock told Robert Peston: "The way we'll have to do it, is that if your phone tells you that there's a problem, you've been close to somebody who has tested positive, instead of that data automatically coming to us, people will have to self-declare."
The health secretary added that business owners in the hospitality sector will not be held responsible for customers failing to give the correct information that would ensure they could be contacted should they be identified as at risk.
Pressed on when the Test and Trace app is likely to be up and running, Mr Hancock said: "I'm not putting a date on it, I'm not putting a date on it."
He added: "I want it to work, I'm really glad now that we've got Apple, are working really well, and I'm very grateful to them for coming to the table, and we're going to make it work."
Executive Chair of NHS Test and Trace, Baroness Dido Harding, has previously said there would be a "world class system" in place by September.
On the frequency of Covid-19 testing for NHS workers, Mr Hancock told the Peston Show that staff would not be tested every week.
Geneticist Sir Paul Nurse told the show such a move would be a "mistake" adding that the UK has been "playing catch up" in its handling of the pandemic.
Sir Paul said there was the need for better preparation earlier in the pandemic - pointing to the outbreak in countries like South Korea as guidance.
He added that an app could have been in place ahead of when the coronavirus outbreak hit the UK.
Asked what he thought of a "what have we learned"-style inquiry into the handling of the crisis, Mr Hancock said: "We're constantly doing that sort of thinking [...] I haven't seen that proposal [...] All I care about is constantly finding out what works, and adapting our response to it, because we are still learning about this virus."