Covid: Health secretary Matt Hancock self-isolating after app alert

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said he is self-isolating after being alerted by the UK's NHS Covid-19 app.

The West Suffolk MP said self-isolation was "perhaps the most important part of all the social distancing" and urged others to do the same if contacted.

In a tweet Mr Hancock said he would be working from home until Sunday, adding "we all have a part to play in getting this virus under control".

He contracted coronavirus in March 2020 and suffered "mild symptoms".

Mr Hancock said he learned from the app he had been "in close contact with somebody who's tested positive" and so self-isolating was "how we break the chains of transmission".

"So you must follow these rules like I'm going to," he said. "I've got to work from home for the next six days, and together, by doing this, by following this, and all the other panoply of rules that we've had to put in place, we can get through this and beat this virus."

In March, Mr Hancock revealed he had tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after Prime Minister Boris Johnson had confirmed he too had the virus.

While the health secretary recovered fairly swiftly, and was able to work from home during his illness, Mr Johnson required hospital treatment.

Self-isolation, which means staying at home and not leaving, is a legal requirement for anybody who has Covid symptoms, has tested positive for the virus, lives with someone who has symptoms, has arrived from abroad or has been contacted by NHS Test and Trace.

In December the self-isolation period required was cut from 14 days to 10 days.

Using Bluetooth technology the NHS app makes contact between mobile phones when they are near each other, if an owner of a phone later tests positive for the virus and shares that with the app, alerts are sent to anyone who is deemed to have been a close contact.

The app then counts down an isolation period of 10 full days after the last time the individual was in contact with the person who has tested positive for the virus.