NHS smartphone app ‘won’t be able to stop the spread’

THE long-awaited NHS contact-tracing app will not stop the spread of coronavirus, experts warned yesterday.

Having reviewed evidence of how well such technology works, researchers at University College London found it is unlikely to kill off Covid on its own.

Social distancing and other measures – such as closing pubs again – would be required to prevent a second wave even if the NHS had a fully-functioning and widelyused app, the study found.

While apps could reduce reliance on human contact-tracers, the researchers said the technology could actually increase the risk of coronavirus among the elderly. The team also raised issues about privacy.

The UCL study, published in the Lancet, makes clear that the technology is no substitute for manual contact-tracing, carried out by public health teams.

Even in the most optimistic scenario – with 80 per cent of UK smartphone owners in the UK using the app, and 90 per cent selfisolating for two weeks when notified they’d been in contact with a confirmed Covid case – additional measures would still be needed to keep the infection under control.

The researchers stressed, however, that evidence on the effectiveness of contacttracing apps remains limited and there is an ‘urgent need for further evaluation’.

The original NHS app was due to be launched nationwide in May. It was scrapped in June due to a series of flaws. A revamped app is currently being trialled on the Isle of Wight and in Newham, east London. However, health officials still cannot confirm whether it will be ready in time for winter.

UCL’s research on apps is based on a review of data from 15 scientific studies published between January and April this year. The study’s lead author, Dr Isobel Braithwaite, said: ‘We found a consistent picture that although automated contacttracing could support manual contact-tracing, the systems will require large- scale uptake by the population and strict adherence to quarantine advice... to have a significant impact on reducing transmission.’

She added: ‘Although automated contacttracing shows some promise in helping reduce transmission of Covid-19... our research highlighted the urgent need for further evaluation of these apps.

Dr Robert Aldridge, of UCL’s Institute of Health Informatics, added: ‘We currently do not have good evidence about whether a notification from a smartphone app is as effective in breaking chains of transmission by giving advice to isolate due to contact with a case of Covid-19 when compared to advice provided by a public health contact-tracer.

‘We should be mindful that automated approaches raise potential privacy and ethics concerns, and also rely on high smartphone ownership – so they may be of very limited value in some countries.

‘Too much reliance on automated contacttracing apps may also increase the risk of Covid- 19 for vulnerable and digitallyexcluded groups such as older people and people experiencing homelessness.’