The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive has launched a Covid-19 tracker app, which will help identify close contacts of people who test positive for the disease.
The app is expected to facilitate contact tracing, symptom tracking, and contain other information about the virus.
HOW DOES THE APP WORK?
The app has been designed to be as data-light as possible, not collecting personal information; it is very much used as a notification tool.
The app works using your phones built-in Bluetooth, this “Bluetooth handshake” is used to speak to other devices and registers when you have been in close contact with others for about 15 minutes. If you do come into close contact with a person for a specific period of time, the app will get in touch with the HSE contact tracing team. They will then issue a code to that person’s phone to see if they have COVID-19, if they have tested positive this will then prompt a notification to appear on the phones of anyone who has been in close contact with the infected person.
The HSE has said no personal information is given out and nobody will know the identity of the person who tests positive.
The app is free to download on both IOS and Android stores – working for devices that are iPhone6 or Android 7 upwards, older devices will not work with the app.
More information and links to install the app can be found on the covidtracker.gov.ie website.
