By Isle of Wight Observer
MP Bob Seely has welcomed the announcement that the Isle of Wight is to become the first place in the country – and indeed the world – to be offered access to a new contact tracing app to track and trace the prevalence of Covid-19.
As announced during yesterday’s daily briefing inside No.10 Downing Street – led by Health Secretary, Matt Hancock – the roll-out of the app will start first on the Isle of Wight with residents receiving letters on how to download it from Thursday.
Bob said: “I am delighted that the Isle of Wight has been chosen as the pilot area to assist with the development of this app, and I hope that Islanders can get behind it and support it by downloading the app on their phones.
“This is important for the Island because it makes us safer on the Island and protects our ‘at risk’ groups and all of us. This Track, Trace and Test scheme (TTT) gives us additional tech tools to find where the virus is and care for those who have the illness. This keeps the Island safer and we make a significant contribution to the national effort. It will go out to the nation in the next few weeks, we are getting it first.
“The more people who download the app, the more robust the evidence will be. I therefore urge all Islanders to get behind this ground-breaking app and help us to track, trace and eliminate the virus here.
For those who may not have access to the app, or the ability to use a smartphone, there will be an option to report symptoms and order tests in other ways including an online service or telephone interviews so that contact tracers can reach all contacts who may be at risk, whether or not those contacts are app users.
