New Delhi: As part of its awareness campaign against the outbreak of Covid-19 and the spread of novel coronavirus, the Government of India has launched a new app, Aarogya Setu, to make credible information about the virus accessible to the masses.
Several state governments have also launched their own apps in the recent past.
The new app is available to both Android and iOS users and can be downloaded from the Play Store or Apple’s App Store. The user is required to register on his mobile phone giving relevant information for using the downloaded app.
The app aims at augmenting efforts to proactively inform the citizens about the best practices and relevant advisories pertaining to the containment of Covid-19.
Essentially, this app helps users in identifying whether they are at risk of being infected by the coronavirus by checking if they have knowingly or unknowingly come into contact with individuals who have been tested positive with Covid-19.
Aarogya Setu uses a government database of infected people to function. It was developed by the National Informatics Center, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The app supports 11 Indian languages, including Hindi and English, and requires location and Bluetooth access to determine if the user had recently come in contact with a Covid-19 positive patient.
The government said the data stored on the app is “encrypted” and will not be shared with any third-party vendors. Android users will also receive live tweets from the Ministry of Health.