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The NHS has been testing out a new app designed to help control the spread of the coronavirus.

It uses Bluetooth technology in phones to tell you if you have come into close contact with a person who has Covid-19 symptoms.

If a person thinks they have coronavirus symptoms, they will let the app know, and they will be sent a home-testing kit.

If the results of the test show that the person does have coronavirus it will send out a message to all the people that have been near to them, to let them know they should stay at home and self-isolate, in case they get symptoms too.

At the moment the app only sends out two messages: "You're okay" meaning you don't have to self-isolate, or "You need to isolate yourself and stay at home".

This type of technology is called contact tracing.

These message alerts will be sent anonymously, which means it won't tell you who has the symptoms, just that you have been near to a person who has.

The app is currently being tested to see if it works properly at an RAF base in Yorkshire.

If the app passes the testing process the NHS is hoping it can be released by mid-May, although a final decision will be taken by the government.

Similar apps have been used in countries like South Korea to help keep track of the spread of the virus.

The health secretary for England, said the trials "are going well".

"The more people who sign up for this new app when it goes live, the better informed our response will be and the better we can therefore protect the NHS," Matt Hancock told the House of Commons.

He also said that the app would be used alongside medical tests and manual contact tracing by humans.

Some other doctors are worried that the app might not be very reliable, and that manual testing is better and more efficient.