NHS Track and Trace

The government have launched their new NHS Track and Trace app, making use of the technology developed jointly by Google and Apple and deployed into modern handsets at the start of the outbreak.

You should download the app and set it up immediately so you can be notified if you’ve had exposure to someone who later tests positive for Coronavirus.

The security concerns around the initial Track and Trace app have been addressed, this new version does not keep a log of your shared tokens other than on you own phone, and you have complete control over that data.

How to install the NHS Covid 19 App

ANDROID SMARTPHONES

You can click this link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.nhs.covid19.production

Or:

• Open the Play Store on your Android phone
• Tap in the Search for apps & games box
• Type in Covid-19 and click the search button
• All the apps with this icon are authorised Covid-19 notification apps

• Look for the NHS Covid-19 app from ‘Department of Health and Social Care’ and tap it (select the appropriate app for your location)
• Install the app
• You need to enable the Bluetooth settings on your phone for the app to work
• Open your phone settings and got to Connections
• Look for Bluetooth (most phones have a search function that can help you if you can’t find it, just type in ‘Bluetooth’ and it will take you to the setting)
• Make sure the Bluetooth is turned on
• Return to your home screen and find the NHS Covid-19 app to open it to finish setting up the app.

APPLE IPHONES

You can click this link https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/nhs-covid-19/id1520427663

Or:

• Open the App Store on your iPhone (You’ll need to be logged into your Apple account for this)
• Click on Search (at the bottom of the screen)
• Type in ‘NHS COVID-19‘
• The results should show the app listed as ‘Official NHS contact tracing, Department of Health and Social Care‘
• Select the install option
• You need to switch on your iPhone’s Bluetooth radio so the app can work
• Open your iPhone Settings
• Scroll down to the Bluetooth options
• Tap the slider to turn the Bluetooth on if it is turned off (the switch should turn green)
• Return to your home screen and find the NHS Covid-19 app
• Open the app to complete the setup

Venue Check-in

You can use the app to check into a venue. Open the app and select the Venue Check-In option, then scan the QR code at the venue. This is in place of handing over your contact details at the venue when you go in.

Getting an official NHS Track & Trace QR Code

If your business has customers coming in, such as a restaurant, a pub or a shop, you can get an official NHS Covis-19 check-in QR code from the Governments website, head to https://www.gov.uk/create-coronavirus-qr-poster to get started.

How the new app works

When the app is installed on a supported device (most modern smartphones) the app will use Bluetooth to detect other phones with the app nearby.

Using Bluetooth LE (Low Energy – this is a low power version of Bluetooth that can handle simple handshake and token exchanges such as is needed in the app) the app uses the GAEN API (Google Apple Exposure Notification, the joint Google/Apple development) to send out a random anonymous identifier that changes every 10-20 minutes.

Any nearby devices that have the app installed exchange keys with your device. The strength of the signal is used to determine approximate distance from the other device, and the duration of the proximity is recorded.

There is no geographic information recorded at all, only the random keys from other devices, the duration (up to 15 minutes) and the approximate distance.

If you’re in proximity to another device for 40 minutes, both devices will have changed their anonymous identifier two or three times in that period, as they are anonymous, each new identifier is recorded as a new contact.

If you are tested and found to be infected with Covid-19, you enter your test result code into the app and it will send all your anonymous identification keys (diagnosis keys) from the past 14 days to a server. They remain anonymous, and are removed from the server after 14 days.

Each time a device downloads the list of keys from the server it checks if any have been matched, and alerts the user if they do.