The Health Foundation: COVID-19 contact tracing app can exacerbate digital divide

UK based The Health Foundation surveyed around 2000 Britons regarding the UK National Health Service’s (NHS) the Coronavirus contact tracing app. The survey revealed that only 62% are willing to download the app. Yet, the survey unveiled a significant digital divide among different occupations, educational levels, and age groups. The foundation warned that potential negative repercussions of this digital divide must be considered against a backdrop of significant and growing socio-economic and health inequality in the UK, which has left those living in poorer areas at significantly increased risk of contracting the virus. The Health Foundation expressed concerns regarding the false alerts from the app leading to unintended consequences, as well as the poor spread of new information among those without the app.