anGadgets EditorsThe coronavirus pandemic is here to stay, as there is still a long way to go before a vaccine arrives that will ensure we return to previous levels of safety, so having as much information as possible is a key factor in slowing its spread. That’s where the different applications and bots that we’ve been seeing emerge and the next will be the World Health Organization.
The WHO already commented some time ago that it was working on a kind of information application like the one we already have available in Spain with AsistenciaCovid, which would also include a self-diagnosis test that users could complete on their own mobile phone. Now the WHO has confirmed that they want to have the app in circulation this very month of March, and that value to include a Bluetooth contact tracking module.
Initial form, possible Bluetooth tracking module
This type of tracking has been sewn into the coronavirus apps from the model put into circulation by Singapore. In summary, what such an application does is to write down who we have contact with (thanks to the proximity detection and the identification number of the other users’ phones) so that we can locate them in case we are infected, and that we can also be located if any user of our contact chain contracts the COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus.
Although he has not confirmed whether or not the implementation of this module is underway, Bernardo Mariano, the WHO information officer, has confirmed that they do consider this type of implementation. We do not know if it is based on the APIs of both Google and Apple for their operating systems, which should be in circulation soon, or using some method of their own. We will soon find out, though, since the WHO’s app code is published on Github, and is accessible to anyone who wants to consult it.
The app will initially have a form to find out if we may have been infected as well as relevant health information
So what we know for sure is that the WHO mobile application will start with basic functionalities such as a form with questions which will determine whether or not we should contact health services based on our symptoms. We will also implement information, presumably territorial, on how to access the test that confirms whether or not we are infected.
In addition, WHO has confirmed that the application will remain public once it is available in the various app stores worldwide. The code will be available to individual governments and organizations to enable them to add more modules on it, following a fractionated scheme like the OpenCoronavirus app we commented here. The only thing left to do is wait for the WHO to announce that the app is available to download and test it.
Via : Reuters
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