Protect Scotland coronavirus app now compatible with equivalents in England, Wales and Gibraltar

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon views the new Covid-19 track and trace app.

Scotland’s coronavirus contact tracing app will now be compatible with versions in England, Wales and Gibraltar.

The Scottish Government has announced that people who have downloaded the Protect Scotland app will, from today, be able to continue using it if they travel elsewhere in the UK.

This follows on from compatibility being achieved with apps in Northern Ireland and Jersey on October 28, with plans in place to look at ways of working with apps from further countries and regions.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “The Protect Scotland app is a vital tool in helping suppressing Covid-19 and I welcome that the app now works with the English and Welsh NHS Covid-19 app, as well as Beat Covid Gibraltar.

“This follows on from interoperability being achieved with apps in Northern Ireland and Jersey and is an important step in helping further reduce the spread of the virus.

“While people are being advised to only travel for essential purposes at the moment, this compatibility will allow those having to travel to continue to be alerted via the Protect Scotland app if they have been in close contact with a positive Covid-19 case.”

More than 1.5 million people have downloaded the app since it was first launched last month.

Over 13,000 people have been contacted via the app to let them know they’ve been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus.

Ms Freeman added: “We also know that not everyone uses a smartphone or will be able to or want to access the app, which is why this software is very much there to complement existing contact tracing methods.”

Those who have already downloaded Protect Scotland do not need to do anything for it to work in the new areas, just keep the app active while there.

Their phone will be able to connect to the relevant apps in those places and continue to alert users if they have had a close contact with someone who has tested positive.

Likewise, if users of Protect Scotland test positive in Scotland, any users of the English and Welsh NHS Covid-19 app or the Beat Covid Gibraltar app who have been in close proximity will receive a notification.