Jersey contact tracing app to launch in October

Credit: PA

A contact tracing app will launch in Jersey in October.

The app, called Jersey Covid Alert, will alert islanders if they have been in close proximity with someone who has coronavirus for more than 15 minutes.

The government has signed a contract with NearForm who have developed similar apps for the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The app, which will be bespoke to Jersey, has been developed in partnership with Digital Jersey.

The team behind the app say it will not rely on GPS tracking and will instead rely on the signal between mobile phones to trace the spread of the virus.

Anyone who is made aware they have been in contact with someone who has coronavirus will be urged to call the island's coronavirus helpline and to self-isolate.

The app will be made available in the week commencing Saturday 12 October.