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Switzerland’s CovidApp is in a difficult position: around 1.7 million people have actively installed the app so far. According to the goal of the Federal Office of Public Health, it should have already been three million active users. The Federal Council wants to intensify the advertising campaign of the application this week. Epidemiologist Marcel Salathé helped develop the application. For him, it is clear that it is necessary to improve communication.
Marcel Salathé
Professor of Epidemiology
SRF News: Swiss CovidApp has far fewer users than anticipated. Why is that?
Marcel Salathé: I think it is also a communication problem. Good to hear that everyone is talking about this app now. You should have done it a little earlier. But of course these things take time. Now this communication impulse has to come back. People have now understood that it is an extremely secure application that can help support contact tracing.
What about communication? Still haven’t earned people’s trust in the app?
I don’t think it has anything to do with trust. During the summer there was also a certain opinion that this is all over and that (using the app, editor’s note) is not so necessary. However, it was clear from the polls that when things started again, people would consider installing it. And now we are definitely at that stage.
For a long time there was no clear communication, says Salathé. But: “Now, for the first time, the application is on the orange BAG posters and is displayed in all post offices.” In the picture: Anne Lévy, director of the BAG, presents the new campaign on October 9.
Keystone
When asked by SRF, BAG said that so far around 130 people have been found through the app and ultimately tested positive, isn’t that too few?
No, this is a very good start. We can calculate the effectiveness: you have to take into account that around 20 percent of the Swiss use this app. Of these, 20 percent of the contacts have the application. This means that at the moment it only covers four percent of all contacts. The fact that 130 cases have already been found, and there are probably more as not all cases are reported, shows that it is already working very well.
I have heard of a case in which a person who tested positive had been waiting a week for the canton code to enter it in the application and thus warn others. Where is the problem there?
There is still a lack of code output, which is done cantonally. It is certainly an exception. The distribution from symptom onset to receipt of the code is already publicly available, an average of three days. The cases in which it takes longer are certainly problematic. We are in contact with the cantons to find out how it can be improved. Technically, there are no obstacles. Ideally, the code should be delivered together with the test result.
It has always been said that the woolly milk pig laying eggs should not be expected from this app.
Where do we stand in terms of app compatibility when it comes to older smartphones?
The problem is particularly with the iPhone 6, which is still relatively popular in Switzerland. Unfortunately, the problem lies with the manufacturer: Apple does not allow us to run this application on these older devices. Unfortunately, as a SwissCovid co-developer, there is nothing we can do about it.
How confident are you that the improved communication will increase the number of users to such an extent that the application will finally achieve the promised benefits?
It has always been said that the woolly milk pig laying eggs should not be expected from this app. We have shown that it can do the job, but it is also highly dependent on use. That is why I would invite everyone in Switzerland to download this application.
Interview by Roger Aebli.
