Bangladesh finally gets its contact tracing app
Bangladesh yesterday rolled out a contact tracing application on a trial basis to warn users if they have been near a person who later tested positive for the coronavirus and advise the next span of actions in a bid to flatten the curve on the rogue pathogen.
Technologically advanced countries such as for example South Korea and Singapore were one of the primary countries that contain rolled out such applications to trace infected individuals and prepare a risky zone. Various other countries later developed and put in place their own contact tracing apps.
To avail the service, smartphone users have to use mobile application Corona Tracer BD, a contact tracing app.
The software has been produced by local technology company Shohoz under an initiative of the ICT Division and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to bring the persons of the country together in its fight against the COVID-19.
So far, 50 countries have introduced contact tracing application to flatten the curve of the coronavirus pandemic.
State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak introduced the application form throughout a virtual ceremony and requested every smartphone user to download it to stop the spread of the highly contiguous virus.
The iphone app utilises Bluetooth signal to comprehend whether a user is near another person that was tested positive previously and this can help users find out whether they are at risk of COVID-19.
If a user is available to have been around in connection with an infected individual recently, they would receive an alert. If the users' case appears risky, they'll be able to seek medical help at the initial and get into self-isolation, Palak said.
To use the app, mobile phones need to have data connectivity and the mobile's Bluetooth and location features must be activated.
The software came as the quantity of coronavirus infections and deaths continues unabated.
More than 2,400 people tested positive for COVID-19 within the last a day yesterday, taking the total number of infections to 57,563. The death toll stands at 781.
The government would ask the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to request the mobile phone operators to make the app under zero internet benefit, Palak said.
The application form also provides information on how to proceed in case of suspected infection and on the places of nearby health insurance and testing units.
In the event of a suspected infection, the users can check if the symptoms are appropriate for those of COVID-19 patients and they'll be instructed and delivered to the nearest basic health unit.
Users can download the application from Google's Play Store. The software would soon be accessible on Apple's App Store.
The app users are certain to get the instant message if they come in close connection with a coronavirus positive patient far away of less than one metre, said Maliha M Quadir, founder and managing director of Shohoz.
They would also be alerted if any of the people they came in touch with becomes positive even four days following the meeting, she said.
"This application could possibly be used as an instrument to get information from the citizens and alert them. All data will be protected. Except for a user's mobile phone number, no other private information will be needed to download or utilize it," she said.
The app would use coronavirus test-related data placed with the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) to warn a user.
The alert service can help the government prepare a database that will determine the high-risk and risky zones in the country, said Anir Chowdhury, policy adviser of Access to Information (a2i) programme.
India uses the same kind of application and it's been downloaded a lot more than 10 crore times in the first a month after its launch and the united states has received an enormous positive outcome, he added.
NM Ziaul Alam, senior secretary of the ICT Division, Prof Abul Kalam Azad, director general of the DGHS, and Meerjady Sabrina Flora, director of the IEDCR, were present through the virtual launch.
