Earlier today Ireland launched its COVID-19 tracing app called “COVID Tracker Ireland.” The app is based on the Apple-Google exposure notification API.
The app will work by alerting the user who has installed the app if they have come close to a person who is COVID-19 positive. The people who are exposed can track the symptoms through the app and they will get medical advice also. The users who are coronavirus positive can choose to anonymously warn others if they are close to them.
This Irish app also gets a list of anonymous IDs who have shared their IDs as coronavirus positive. The app gets this data every two hours. It then alerts the users as soon as possible. The app triggers an alert if it finds a person who is coronavirus positive within two meters. It will only happen if both of them have this app installed on their phones.
According to the statement given by Stephen Donnelly who is the Health Minister in Ireland, this app can help play an extra part to slow-down the spread of COVID-19. He said in his statement which he gave to Ireland’s The Journal:
“It’s a very, very powerful tool.”
He also added,
“We’ll be encouraging as many people as possible to download and use it.”
Many other countries in Europe have released the COVID-19 contact tracing apps using Apple-Google API. These countries include Germany, Italy, Latvia, Poland, and Switzerland.
