The new application created in Germany to track the spread of coronavirus was announced by the SAP to have been downloaded 6.5 million times for the first 24 hours of its release. The application tracks users’ contacts via Bluetooth.
The “Corona-Warn-App” application created in cooperation with the SAP and Deutsche Telekom IT group was released on Tuesday for users of smartphones based on Android and the Apple operating system. According to the head of SAP, the number of downloads on the first day is a “great success”. The application records contacts between users using Bluetooth technology. Data on this subject is saved on the device and encrypted.
Track-and-trace apps have been touted as a high-tech tool in the effort to track and control COVID-19 infections. Experts say finding new cases quickly is key to clamping down on fresh clusters as countries relax restrictions while seeking to avoid a second wave. Health Minister Jens Spahn told German broadcaster ZDF that the fight against the virus and containing it is a team effort and that he would be happy if many hundreds of thousands and even ideally millions would download the app. By launching the application, Germany joined the group of European countries, including Poland, which have developed similar programs to facilitate the tracking of contacts of people infected with coronavirus. In order for them to be effective, they must be mass-downloaded by a large proportion of the population.
It has not been successful so far – in France the “StopCovid” application, unavailable to users of Apple phones, has been activated by about 2% residents. The German application recorded a better result on the first day – almost 8%, although millions of Germans must still download the program for full success.