Covid-19 tracing app to launch in coming days once approved by Cabinet

A NEW Covid-19 contact tracing app will be launched in the coming days after the Cabinet gives the green light to the technology.

The Covid Tracker App will allow users to tell people they have been in contact with that they have contracted the virus.

It will also give the Government vital information on the spread of the virus.

The app has been developed by the HSE, and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will bring a memo to Cabinet today on the new technology.

It cost €850,000 to develop and has been cleared for use on Apple and Android phones.

People who test positive for the virus will be able to anonymously alert other users who they have been in close contact with, using the Bluetooth function on their phones.

It will tell people who have been close contacts but do not know each other that they could have been exposed to the virus. Tests have been carried out to ensure the app does not store private data or give additional personal information of users to the Government.

“As the country reopens, contact tracing and the early identification of symptoms will become increasingly important as more people are visiting family and friends, exercising, socialising, shopping, returning to work and using public transport,” a source said.

“The app is an important part of the whole of government response to Covid-19,” the source added.

The app has been developed by Waterford company Nearform.

Gardaí were involved in testing the app, as were researchers in Trinity College.

Tracing apps are in use in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Latvia. The introduction of a tracing app in the UK has been delayed after the government there decided to change the technology being used.