The NHS Covid-19 app is being updated so fewer contacts will be instructed to self-isolate, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced.
The 'logic' behind the app’s system will be tweaked - meaning a person will need to have been near a positive but asymptomatic individual two days prior, instead of five - which is the rule currently.
Changes do not mean the sensitivity has been altered, nor the risk threshold, DHSC said.
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It means fewer contacts that took place when the positive case was unlikely to be at the peak of their infectiousness are advised to self-isolate, reducing the overall number of notifications sent by the app, the statement added.
“We want to reduce the disruption that self-isolation can cause for people and businesses while ensuring we’re protecting those most at risk from this virus,” Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said.
“This update to the app will help ensure that we are striking the right balance.
“It’s so important that people isolate when asked to do so in order to stop the spread of the virus and protect their communities.”
The update comes as new analysis of the Covid-19 app shows that in the first three weeks of July, it averted up to 2,000 cases per day, and over 50,000 cases of COVID-19 including chains of transmission (assuming 60 per cent compliance with instructions to self-isolate), according to the DHSC.
Usage remains high, the government says, with around 40 per cent of the eligible population regularly using the app and around 50 per cent of all reported tests being inputted.
Dr Jenny Harries, CEO of UK Health Security Agency, said: “The NHS COVID-19 App is a really practical example of how technology can be used to fight the biggest challenges we face in protecting and improving our health.
“The app is the simplest, easiest, and fastest way to find out whether you have been exposed to the virus, and it has saved thousands of lives over the course of this pandemic.
“I strongly encourage everyone, even those fully vaccinated, to continue using the app. It is a lifesaving tool that helps us to stay safe and to protect those closest to us as we return to a more familiar way of life.”
Meanwhile, from August 16, fully vaccinated contacts in England will be exempt from isolation and instead will be advised to take a PCR test.
Those who are not fully vaccinated will still be required to isolate, and it will remain a legal obligation to isolate if you test positive for COVID-19.
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