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UK to test COVID-19 tracing app on the Isle of Wight this week

Britain needs new cases of COVID-19 to fall further, England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said Monday (May 4), even as data indicates that the peak of the coronavirus outbreak has passed.

"It's now very clear in the data that we are past the peak," Van-Tam said at a daily news conference. "New cases need to come down further ... we have to get cases lower."

The British government has set five tests that need to be met before it will start easing a lockdown that has been in place since March 23. One of the five tests is that there has to be reliable data showing that the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels across the board.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock talked about the COVID-19 smartphone app being rolled out in Britain starting on the Isle of Wight which, according to programme head Matthew Gould, will be able to give serious insights into the virus by virtue of using centralised matching despite its offering less privacy than rival apps.