England launches trial of revamped contact-tracing app

LONDON: Britain’s health ministry on Thursday launched its delayed contact tracing app for England with fresh trials after technical issues prompted a rethink of its approach and a change of system.

The test and trace programme is key to detecting flare-ups of COVID-19 and reopening the economy but has been dogged by problems.

A smartphone app developed by the National Health Service (NHS) was initially expected to be rolled out in May but did not materialise, and in June, the government pivoted away from a homegrown model to a system developed by Apple and Google