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NEW DELHI / AHMEDABAD: Aarogya Setu, the mobile app to help track Covid-19 patients, has alerted about 1.4 lakh users in the country to a possible risk of infection due to the proximity of infected people, an official said on Monday even as the government reflected on it application mandatory for air passengers.
The official also said that the official government application helped generate information on 697 potential hot spots in the country.
Ajay Sawhney, president of Empowered Group 9 dealing with technology and data management in the fight against Covid-19, said the app will soon reach a user base of Rs 10 million, as he gave an update on the use of the tool that allows better ‘contact tracking’: one of the key elements in the fight against infectious diseases using the Bluetooth and GPS capabilities of a mobile phone.
About 9.8 million people have downloaded this app and it is available in 12 languages, Sawhney said at a press conference. The app has created a world record for being the fastest app to reach five million users, he said.
Around 1.4 lakh users of the Aarogya Setu app have been alerted via Bluetooth contact tracking of the possible risk of infection due to proximity to infected patients, the official said.
He reiterated that it is used only for health interventions and does not reveal the identity of the people.
Authorities said the central government is considering making it mandatory for travelers to have this app installed on their phones while taking any flight in the days after closing.
“Preliminary talks on how to make this app mandatory for air passengers have been held with airlines,” the officials said, adding that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has not yet made a final decision.
The government app gives users a color-coded designation based on their health status and travel history. It helps the user to know if he is around someone who has tested positive for the virus.
“If the proposal is approved by the Ministry of Aviation, passengers who do not have the application on their phone will not be able to board their flight,” the officials said.
The third phase of the coronavirus blockade will end on May 17. The government has yet to make a decision regarding the resumption of commercial passenger flight services.
All commercial passenger flight operations have been suspended for the 54-day blackout period that began on March 25. However, cargo flights, medical evacuation flights and special flights approved by aviation regulator DGCA have been able to operate.
As India recorded a record jump of 4,213 Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the government said some relatively large outbreaks have been noted in particular locations and that it is important to focus on containment efforts to ensure that the country does not reach the community Transmission stage.
Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Healthhe said 4,213 coronavirus Cases and 97 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours until Monday at 8 am, bringing the total number of infections to 67,152 and the number of deaths to 2,206.
As many as 20,917 Covid-19 patients have so far recovered, bringing the recovery rate to 31.15 percent, the health ministry said. Additionally, 1,559 patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, the highest number of recoveries in one day, he added.
The number of Aarogya Setu (health bridge) users is expected to increase substantially with the Railways making use of this mandatory application for passengers taking the 15 special trains operating from Delhi to various cities.
The Railways said it will run eight trains starting Tuesday as part of the gradual resumption of suspended passenger train services since March 25.
On May 1, the Center also made it mandatory for government and private sector employees to use the mobile app to reinforce efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, and said it will be the responsibility of the organization’s heads to ensure compliance. . Coverage percentage.
the Union Ministry of the Interior He also said that the mobile application will be a must for people living in the Covid-19 containment areas.
“The use of the Aarogya Setu application will be mandatory for all employees, both private and public. It will be the responsibility of the head of the respective organizations to guarantee 100% coverage of this application among employees,” the ministry said.
The announcement came on a day the government extended the national blockade by two weeks from May 4 with some relaxation.
The country’s leading contact location technology was launched on April 2 of this year. It was developed by the National Computer Center of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
In his briefing, Chawla said the app is secure as it has been designed with people’s privacy in mind and is playing a crucial role in India’s fight against the pandemic.
He said it was developed to alert people before they come into contact with infected patients and alert the health system to take appropriate measures for their help.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has also made it mandatory for grocery and food delivery personnel to download the app on their mobile phones.
The revised guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Health for home isolation of very mild / pre-symptomatic cases also require the download of the application on the mobile and made it clear that it must remain active at all times (via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi).
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