LONDON — The United Kingdom is testing a COVID-19 contact-tracing app on the Isle of Wight, the British government announced on May 4. <br /><br />According to a press release from the Department of Health and Social Care, the app, which was developed by NHSX, the digital technology unit of the National Health Service, will keep a record of whom the user comes into contact with. <br /><br />It will upload this information to a government database to help the NHS study the virus and develop strategies to ease Britain's coronavirus lockdown.<br /><br />If the user becomes ill, the app will send a notification to everyone they have been in contact with to self-isolate.<br /><br />The Isle of Wight is a small island in the English Channel with a population of around 140,000 people and a single NHS trust that covers all of the island.<br /><br />Announcing the move on May 5, health secretary Matt Hancock said the isle's size is ideal to conduct testing under "scientifically controlled conditions," ITV reports.<br /><br />The NHS COVID-19 app will be rolled out for the rest of the nation by the end of the month.
