Matt Hancock is facing a fresh storm over the failed NHS contact tracing app today after it emerged the government pumped more than £11million into the failed project. Government transparency information showed at least 11 contracts have been awarded to private firms for work on the project, worth a total of £11,297,811. It is not clear … Read more
Matt Hancock is facing a fresh storm over the failed NHS contact tracing app today as Apple dismissed his claims that its version does not detect distances well. The tech giant also made clear it had not been consulted over the Health Secretary’s statement last night that they would now work together to develop hybrid … Read more
The NHS coronavirus contact tracing app will not be rolled out nationwide until winter at the earliest, a senior health minister admitted today. Lord Bethell, the health minister responsible for the Covid-19 testing programme, said the app – which was supposed to be the UK’s saving grace for easing lockdown – is no longer the … Read more
Compulsory face coverings and testing for everyone with symptoms could cut UK coronavirus deaths by 50,000 over two years until a vaccine is found, a study has claimed. A team of experts investigated 31 different scenarios for capping the UK death toll. Each scenario had a range of interventions, such as testing the whole population … Read more
England should not ease lockdown until the NHS contract tracing system aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus is ‘effective’, the World Health Organization has said. As the UK government prepares to launch a ‘comprehensive review’ of the strict two-metre social distancing regulations currently in place, WHO’s director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, has voiced … Read more
Britain’s coronavirus lockdown should not be lifted until contact tracing system works properly, WHO says WHO’s director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, said England needed to be cautious He said it was important country ensure it had a ‘robust track and trace system’ Comes as ministers prepare to drop two-metre rule in effort to help businesses … Read more
Public Health England only had enough contact-tracing capacity to last two weeks before it became ‘exhausted’, scientists warned in February. A batch of scientific papers submitted to the Government’s SAGE committee were published today and reveal more of what officials were being told in the early stages of the UK’s epidemic. Researchers said there was … Read more
The Government’s coronavirus test and trace system remains in chaos today with staff battling against a failing operating system and unable to start work. People working in the system, which was supposed to be fully operational by June 1, say they have not contacted anyone in the two weeks since they started work. And employees … Read more
Ministers must massively speed up coronavirus testing or risk their contact tracing plan falling ‘dead in the water’, warn doctors Almost half of coronavirus tests are failing to come back within a 48-hour period This leaves Britain’s contact tracing army racing to get in touch with contacts Fears that efforts to trace contacts could come … Read more
The government’s coronavirus contact tracing site crashed on launch this morning amid complaints it has been a ‘complete shambles’, which has seen workers paid £10-an-hour to sit at home and do nothing. Doctors and other staff reported major teething troubles as the much-trumpeted scheme finally got up and running, with some saying they had not … Read more