Northern Ireland

Contact tracing app due by end of July in Northern Ireland

The app would assist with the ongoing contact tracing programme. Picture by Press Association
The app would assist with the ongoing contact tracing programme. Picture by Press Association The app would assist with the ongoing contact tracing programme. Picture by Press Association

A NEW contract tracing phone app is expected to be released in Northern Ireland before the end of July.

Department of Health officials confirmed the move, which follows the failure of the NHS app trialled on the Isle of Wight.

The north's current coronavirus contact tracing programme has been operational since mid-May and is manned by more than 100 staff using a telephone system.

Calls are made to people who have tested positive to get a list of who they have been in close contact with during their infectious period and the contact details.

The Republic is also preparing to roll out its app.

Two months ago, health Minister Robin Swann said his department was working closely with their counterparts in the south to develop a compatible app.

Privacy concerns and software problems were among the issues that led to delays.

Before the app is released, it is understood all information governance, equality and human rights issues around the use of it are being explored.

Meanwhile, no further coronavirus deaths were recorded by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland yesterday.

The number of people who died after testing positive for coronavirus is 551 while the number of people who tested positive stands at 5,761.

It was also the fifth day in a row there were no Covid-19 patients in ICU.

Three more people have died with Covid-19 in the Republic, where the death toll now stands at 1,738.

A further six people have tested positive for the virus, bringing that total since the start of the pandemic to 25,477.