Contact tracing app to launch next month after deal signed

Monday 21 September 2020

A Jersey contact tracing app will be launched next month after the Government signed a contract with a supplier.

Based on Apple and Google technology, the app will be bespoke to Jersey although the underlying technology will be designed by a company called Nearform, an Irish firm that has already designed the contact tracing apps for the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Work is now being done to tailor the front-end of the app for Jersey, with branding, local information and links into existing local databases. However, the app will not require, hold or share any personal data, nor will it track movements of people.

Instead, it will rely on a phone’s Bluetooth signal to communicate with other devices. 

If someone takes a PCR test which is found to be positive, they will receive a call from the Island’s Contact Tracing Team, who will ask that person if they are using the app. If they are, they will be sent a code to enter into their smartphone. 

Then, other people whose phone has been within two metres of the positive person’s phone for 15 minutes or more over a certain time period will then be alerted and told to phone the Contact Tracing Team, who will advise them of their next steps.

Pictured: Tony Moretta of Digital Jersey has been spearheading efforts to find an app supplier.

Digital Jersey chief executive Tony Moretta, who has been working alongside the Government to find a suitable app, said that it had been chosen for its simplicity and privacy, and that it complemented the efforts of the local Contact Tracing Team. 

“Google and Apple only allow their technology to be used for one app in each jurisdiction so this will be Jersey’s official app,” he said. 

“There has been a lot of hype about the initial English app, which started out as a piece of bespoke software that unfortunately proved too complicated and costly. Northern Ireland and Scotland, meanwhile, went with the Irish app, which was designed by our new supplier, Nearform.

"But England and Wales have now adopted the same Google and Android technology, so we expect the Jersey app will be compatible with all contact tracing apps in the UK and Ireland in the near future."

Pictured: Anyone who has been close to someone with Covid will get an alert on their phone asking them to ring the Contact Tracing Team.

He continued: “Our app will be anonymous and not hold any personal details, which I hope will allay any concerns about privacy. Of course, it will only be effective if people download so we will be asking all employers to encourage their staff to use it.

“This will be a major community effort but I am optimistic it will work because Jersey has already proved that it can come together to fight this virus.”