NHS Covid-19 app to close down on 27 April following decline in users

The NHS Covid-19 app is to be discontinued on 27 April 2023 following a steady decline in the number of active users.

A statement on the official government website (gov.uk) by the UK Health Security Agency confirmed that all the app features will be working until the date of closure.

After that, users will no longer receive alerts informing them when they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. However, the app will continue to allow people to request a certificate proving their Covid vaccination status as part of an international travel requirements.

The statement also said: “Over the past year, the success of the vaccination programme, increased access to treatments and high immunity in the population have enabled the government to target its Covid-19 services.

“This includes providing continued access to government-funded testing, vaccinations and treatments for people at highest risk from the virus.

“The number of people actively using the NHS Covid-19 app has steadily reduced since July 2021. Since access to government-funded testing ended for most people, fewer positive test results have been entered in the app, and as a result, fewer notifications have been sent to close contacts.”

The NHS Covid-19 contact-tracing app was launched across England and Wales on 24 September 2020 following an initial trial a month prior involving the Isle of Wight as well as NHS volunteer respondents in the UK.

People using it in England and Wales have helped to break chains of transmission and reduce infections.

In the last three years, the UK Health Security Agency say that leading scientists at the University of Oxford and University of Warwick have estimated that the app prevented around one million cases, 44,000 hospitalisations and 9,600 people dying during its first year alone.