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Northern Ireland has become the first place in the United Kingdom to launch a mobile app to test and trace coronavirus.

It's called StopCOVID NI and it works by identifying people who have been experiencing the symptoms of the virus.

The app is going to run alongside and help assist a phone tracking system which has been in place since May.

The phone tracking system is where NHS workers get in touch with people who've tested positive for the coronavirus to find out who they've been in contact with. Those who've come into contact with an infected person are then told they will have to self-isolate.

At this stage, the app is being aimed at people over the age of 18.

If someone gets a positive Covid-19 test result, that person will receive a unique code by text message.

That message will invite the person to enter the code if they use the app.

Once they've entered the code, they'll open up their Bluetooth to allow the app to tell any other user who has been nearby for long enough to be at risk of infection.

Someone is at risk of infection if they have been within two metres of someone who has a positive test result for 15 minutes or more.

People in Northern Ireland don't have to download and use the app if they don't want to.

It is not known if, or how well, it will work but people are being encouraged to install and use it.

Dan West - the chief digital information officer at the NI Department of Health - has said: "The more people who do use it, the more protection this will provide to the whole community. We can say that for sure."