Govt app to track if you have been near a Covid +ve person

NEW DELHI: In its effort to spread awareness among citizens on the novel coronavirus outbreak in India, the government launched a new tracking app ‘Aarogya Setu’ on Thursday to help people track Covid-19 infections more accurately and effectively.

The mobile application, developed by the National Informatics Centre under the ministry of electronics and information technology, is available on Google Play Store on Android smartphones and App Store for iPhones. The app is available in 11 languages.

It will help track the coronavirus infection by using the smartphone’s GPS system and bluetooth and provide information that will help in determining if you have been near a Covid-19 infected person or not. Once installed in a smartphone, the app detects other devices with AarogyaSetu installed that come in the proximity of that phone. The app can then calculate the risk of infection based on sophisticated parameters if any of these contacts has tested positive.

“It will enable people to assess themselves the risk for their catching the virus. It will calculate this based on their interaction with others, using cutting edge bluetooth technology, algorithms and artificial intelligence,” an official said. The app will also help the government take necessary timely steps for assessing risk of spread of Covid-19 infection, and ensuring isolation where required.

The government said the app’s design ensures privacy-first. The personal data collected by the app stays secure on the phone till it is needed for facilitating medical intervention.