The apps other countries are using

Contact tracing has been used extensively in South Korea, Hong Kong and Germany, where outbreaks have been contained more quickly. But just how have other countries been using mobile technology in the fight against Covid-19?

■ AUSTRALIA: Australia released COVIDSAFE last Sunday evening and more than four million people have started using the app. Use of the app is voluntary, but the government said 40 per cent of Australians, or 10 million people, need to use it for the program to be a success.

■ NEW ZEALAND: Across the Tasman Sea and New Zealand is also planning an app to help with contact tracing, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it would have to be part of a number of measures. She said: “We are working on it, but I have to say our big focus has been getting our in-person contact tracing right.”

■ SINGAPORE: Developers of the Tracetogether app estimate around one in five people in the city state have downloaded the app – the first Bluetooth contact tracing app in the world. Half of the 1.1 million downloads of the app came in the first 24 hours.

■ INDIA: The Aarogya Setu app uses both GPS location and Bluetooth to track users and has been downloaded 50 million times..

■ CHINA: China’s app gives users a colour based on a traffic light system – green for clear, red for a coronavirus contact.

■ SOUTH KOREA: Authorities are tracking people using mobile device tracking and financial transaction information to alert potential contacts.

■ ELSEWHERE: The Czech Republic has released an app similar to the one from Singapore, while North Macedonia’s Stopkorona! app uses Bluetooth.

Smittestopp in Norway uses both GPS and Bluetooth, while apps are also in development in Italy, Austria and Germany.