Set up text alerts for new arrivals in UK, phone firms urged

Officials to ask telecoms firms to set up automatic coronavirus updates for those entering country

‘The wording of the message tells people what to do if they’ve come back from China, or northern Italy, or anywhere else at risk’

EVERYONE arriving in Britain would receive an automatic coronavirus warning on their mobile phone under emergency plans drawn up by public health chiefs.

Officials have asked to meet major telephone companies to discuss a major new alerting system to respond to the crisis, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

Under one option, messages with the latest coronavirus advice would flash up on phones when passengers arrive by air, sea or the Channel Tunnel. Another more ambitious plan involves alerting technology already used by countries including the US to warn citizens of impending nuclear attack.

Public Health England (PHE) believes the automatic warnings may slow down the spread of the disease by ensuring potential carriers are given up-to-date advice as soon as they set foot in Britain.

Major telecoms firms including BT, Vodafone, O2 and Three have been asked to join the scheme by officials from PHE and the Department of Digital, Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).

It is hoped that a system might be adopted within weeks given that “welcome” messages are already automatically sent to foreigners arriving on British soil.

“This technology already exists,” a source close to the plans told The Daily Telegraph. “Everyone with a foreignregistered phone gets a message welcoming them to Britain, just as British citizens do when they arrive in Spain or other countries. All that needs to happen is that the wording of the message tells people what to do if they’ve come back from China, or Northern Italy, or anywhere else at risk. They could be told to self-isolate if they’ve got symptoms, to call 111, or simply reminded to wash their hands.”

The plan is understood to have been devised by PHE, who then approached the telecoms firms through DCMS. The companies will be asked about the cost telegraph.co.uk/ ghsnewsletter and feasibility of adopting the system before the outbreak reaches its expected peak in the coming weeks.

Last night, Lord Harris of Haringey, who sits on the national security strategy committee, urged the government to deliver the alerting system as soon as possible.

“Any way to get information out there quickly and easily must be welcomed,” he said. “My only worry is that these messages will have to be quite long, so I do wonder whether people would actually read them. We can’t be bombarding people, otherwise they’ll just switch off.”

Under EU law, every citizen using their mobile phone when travelling to another member state must automatically receive a text with emergency information on arrival. In the UK, the welcome messages are sent only to mobile phones registered in foreign countries. The coronavirus plan would see SMS texts sent to every phone, including returning British citizens.

Officials from the Cabinet Office have also contacted telecoms firms to discuss a more ambitious “cell broadcasting” system, it is understood.

This system would allow alerts to be sent to specific geographic areas deemed to be at risk. The technology is already used in other countries to warn against nuclear attack or natural disaster.

Supporters claim the alerts could have saved lives during incidents such as the London Bridge terror attack and Grenfell Tower fire. Senior figures have raised concerns, however, that they could be hijacked by hackers or malicious foreign powers.

The project is being overseen by Dr Nigel Brown from the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, the government body responsible for emergency planning, and officials from Defra.

During a summit in December, a week after the London Bridge attack, senior fire and police officers asked why it was taking so long for the technology to be introduced in Britain.

The summit was attended by officials from the Civil Contingencies Secretariat and leaders from the NHS, National Police Chiefs Council, Metropolitan Police and National Fire Chiefs Council. Multiple sources told The Daily Telegraph of their frustration at the government’s slow progress. A DCMS spokesman refused to comment.