[ad_1] “As we approach the travel season, it is important to ensure that Europeans can use the app from their own country wherever they are travelling in the EU,” Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said in a press release. According to the EU Commission, the information will be shared in a way that prevents […]
Category: contact tracing
Germany’s voluntary contract tracing app is available to download
[ad_1] According to the Associated Press, the government spent €20 million (approximately $22.5 million) funding the development of the app. Moving forward, it expects to spend another €2.5 million to €3.5 million per month operating the software. As in other countries, the app is meant to complement conventional contract tracing efforts wherein medical professionals reach out […]
Germany’s COVID-19 contact tracing app arrives this week
[ad_1] The country faces similar challenges, too. Contact tracing apps generally require large-scale adoption to be truly effective, and that doesn’t always happen — Singapore is considering tracing devices for every resident after relatively low uptake of its app. And while Germany’s system makes data theft and abuse more difficult, there are lingering concerns about […]
Singapore wants every resident to wear a COVID-19 tracing device
[ad_1] While officials didn’t specify what prompted the plan, it comes after Singapore’s contact tracing app, TraceTogether, fell flat. While 1.4 million people have downloaded the app, development minister Lawrence Wong told the SCMP that 75 percent of the population needs to use it to be effective. Although the government has stressed that it keeps […]
France releases a voluntary contact tracing app
[ad_1] The French government has released a contract tracing app, called StopCovid, to notify people when they’ve been in contact with someone who is later diagnosed with COVID-19, as reported by Bloomberg. Usage of the app is entirely voluntary in France, although the effectiveness of contact tracing depends on how many people are using it. […]
Italy’s ‘Immuni’ COVID-19 contact tracing app uses Google, Apple tech
[ad_1] The exposure notification app uses Bluetooth to swap codes between mobile devices. If someone tests positive for COVID-19 and they mark that status on Immuni, it will alert people who have been in close proximity with that person. They’ll be advised to self-isolate and get tested for the virus themselves to limit the spread […]
Qatar’s contact tracing app put over one million people’s info at risk
[ad_1] Qatar’s app, called EHTERAZ, uses GPS and Bluetooth to track COVID-19 cases, and last week, authorities made it mandatory. According to Amnesty, people who don’t use the app could face up to three years in prison and a fine of QR 200,000 (about $55,000). “This incident should act as a warning to governments around […]
WHO will launch a COVID-19 app for countries that don’t make their own
[ad_1] Numerous countries have COVID-19 symptom and tracking apps, but the World Health Organization wants to fill in those gaps for the countries that are too stretched to develop their own software. The WHO’s Bernardo Mariano told Reuters in an interview that the outfit planned to release a symptoms assessment app worldwide later in May. […]
Apple and Google tell health departments their privacy requirements for coronavirus tracking
[ad_1] The system, which Apple and Google are calling exposure notification, involves anonymous Bluetooth keys exchanged between phones to track potential contact with the coronavirus causing COVID-19. The companies are collaborating on an interoperable API which should be released this month. But the two tech giants won’t be the ones building the actual apps — […]
France will start testing its COVID-19 tracking app the week of May 11th
[ad_1] France was one of the first countries scrambling to create a COVID-19 contact tracing app, and now it’s close to finding out how its app works in practice. Digital Affairs Minister Cedric O has stated (via Reuters) that France’s StopCOVID should enter real-world testing the week of May 11th, right as the country will […]