Covid in Lanarkshire
New rules, new limits
Lanarkshire health chiefs are urging people to download the new Protect Scotland app to suppress the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
The free app – available now on Apple and Google stores – will enhance existing Test and
Protect contact tracing measures, offering an additional layer of protection to break the chains of transmission faster.
Once downloaded, the app works in the background, using Bluetooth technology to alert people if they have been within two metres for at least 15 minutes with another app user who has tested positive for coronavirus.
It also quickly alerts app users you have been in close contact with if you test positive, even if those contacts are unknown to you.
People’s privacy will be protected, as the app uses encrypted anonymised codes to determine close contacts, which are deleted after 14 days. It doesn’t store details on an individual, or their location.
Using tried and tested technology, the app will alert people to self-isolate far quicker if they are exposed to the virus, reducing the risk of them infecting others – and the more people who use the app, the better it will work.
Gabe Docherty, director of public health for NHS Lanarkshire, said: “The Test and Protect system is a vital part of Scotland’s fight against coronavirus, and this new app builds on the existing person-to-person contact tracing that is in place.
“The more people who download and use the app, the better it will work, helping make connections you may have otherwise missed.
“This will alert people to self-isolate far quicker if they are exposed to the virus, reducing the risk of them infecting others.
“We all have a part to play in suppressing the virus, and downloading the app, whilst following hygiene and distancing guidance, will help protect you, your family and your community.”
Over 800,000 people have downloaded the app.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stressed its effectiveness is dependent on how many people use it, saying: “Please download, and let’s all protect Scotland.”
She added: “The app does not replace our current test and protect system, it adds to it.
“The work of our teams on the ground, interviewing people who have tested positive, and getting in touch with close contacts, and making recommendations based on the information they gather, will remain the cornerstone of our approach to controlling outbreaks.
“However the app is an important addition to the work of those teams. If you download it, you will receive a notification if someone you have been in close proximity to tells the app that they have tested positive.
“It will be particularly useful for settings such as public transport where we tend to spend time in close proximity to people we don’t know.
“It will be very valuable as students arrive back at university or college for the new term. The app is available now from the Apple and Google Play app stores and more information is available on the new protect. scot website
“The app operates anonymously and confidentially. The simple fact is that the more of us who download and use it, the more effective it, and test and protect overall, will be in helping us beat Covid.
“So I encourage everyone to download it today and spread the word to all of your friends and family.
“This is a simple but very powerful thing all of us can do as individual citizens to help protect Scotland as a whole.”
However people are being reminded that following FACTS remains vital – face coverings, avoid crowded places, clean hands and surfaces, two metre physical distancing and self-isolate immediately and book a test if you have symptoms.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “What each one of us does in how we behave – wearing face coverings, washing our hands and cleaning surfaces, staying two metres apart and avoiding crowded places – all of that really matters in our goal of suppressing this virus.
“The launch of the Protect Scotland app offers an additional level of protection, supporting NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect system to continue to drive down the spread of COVID-19 across the country.”
You can download the contact tracing app on your smartphone by searching ‘Protect Scotland ’in the App Store or Google Play.