Back-to-basics Covid-19 app ready for launch after ‘test and trace’ scheme is scaled back

A basic version of the much-delayed NHS coronavirus app is expected to be launched on Thursday, days after health officials laid off thousands of contact tracers. The scaled-back model is expected to tell people about infection levels in their area, to work out their own risk, and book a Covid-19 test. The functions mean people could be alerted if they were likely to have been in contact with more people than usual, meaning they were at increased risk. However, the original purpose of the app (t