UK track-and-trace up soon, despite issues: minister

UK track-and-trace up soon, despite issues: minister

Britain is dealing with technical issues of its track and trace app that it hopes will help it keep the novel coronavirus outbreak under control.

James Brokenshire, the junior interior minister in charge of security, says the government will rely on traditional tracing in the interim.

BritishPrime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday (May 20) a "world-beating" program to test and trace those suspected of having been in contact with people who have tested positive for COVID-19 would be in place by June 1.

The test and track programme is seen as a key measure to reopen the country, but it has also been dogged by criticism after opposition lawmakers said an earlier promise of a nationwide roll-out of a National Health Service (NHS)-developed smartphone app had slipped from the middle of this month.

Britain is currently testing the app - based on Bluetooth - on the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England, where the government says more than half the residents had downloaded it.