Jersey contact tracing app launched
A contact tracing app, costing £240,000, has launched today (14 October). It is designed to alert people in Jersey when they have been near someone with coronavirus.
Jersey Covid Alert will inform islanders if they have been in close proximity with someone for more than 15 minutes who has coronavirus. It is bespoke to the island and has been developed in partnership with Digital Jersey.
The app is free to download and will work alongside the contact tracing team. When an alert comes through to someone, they will be advised to talk with the Contact Tracing Team to get advice specific to their situation.
A press conference was held by the Government of Jersey at this morning for the launch of the app.
Jersey's Director General for Justice and Home Affairs says the app is an additional service to support the work of the Contact Tracing Team.
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.
It comes as coronavirus numbers on the island rose sharply over the weekend.
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 island's Deputy Medical Officer of Health says the app, in addition to other protective measures, will help prevent the further spread of coronavirus.
The app is anonymous and only retains necessary data for a 14-day period.
The Chief Executive of Digital Jersey says the app works by using Bluetooth to record the anonymous IDs of devices it comes into contact with.
The Chief Executive of the technology development company, NearForm, says privacy is "at its core" to "empower citizens to protect each other and break transmission chains".
Guernsey says is not actively seeking to develop a Contact Tracing app at this time but this will be kept under review.
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