In order to spread awareness among the people on novel coronavirus, the Indian Government has unveiled an app “Aarogya Setu” that is designed to alert the users if they are in close proximity to a person infected with COVID-19. The tracking is done through a Bluetooth & location-generated social graph, which can show your interaction with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The app has been developed by the National Informatics Centre that comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The primary motive of Aarogya Setu app is to help control the spread of coronavirus and make details about it accessible to all. Additionally it also helps in finding out corona positive people present nearby. Without further ado, keep reading the blog to know more about the app, benefits, risk factor and a lot more.
The Aarogya Setu tracking app is available both for Android smartphones users and for iPhone users. iPhone users can visit the App store and look for the Aarogya Setu app to download and use this app. The app is available in 11 languages - English, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Punjabi, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati and Marathi. Once you have downloaded the app, you need to register with your mobile number. After that the user has to enter their health stats and other personal details. A self-assessment test is put forward where the user is asked if he/she is suffering from cough, fever or trouble breathing etc. In case you're a doctor, the app would ask if you were exposed to COVID-19 patients. Depending on the answers, the app will suggest a way forward. Now let’s have a look at some of the features of the Aarogya Setu app:
-
It works on Bluetooth-based technology and tries to determine the risk based on the user's location. Risk factor is also based on the data available for that particular location.
-
The app scans your location and shares your data with the government in case you have been tested positive for coronavirus or have been in close contact with a person who was tested positive for coronavirus.
-
It keeps the user informed in case he/she has crossed paths with the positive COVID-19 patient within 6-feet proximity. Whenever a user visits a crowded place, this app keeps sending messages from nearby mobile phones through Bluetooth. When a user stands near someone who is normal it shows a green zone but if that person becomes corona positive after 10 days, this app will alert you immediately.
-
Aarogya Setu recommends several precautionary measures to the user such as self assessment test, social distancing, do's and don'ts etc.
-
If a user is at a high risk of getting infected with COVID-19, the app would advise him/her to go for a test at a nearby testing centre and call the toll-free number 1075 immediately.
-
The app is also equipped with a chatbot that answers all the basic questions and FAQs (frequently asked questions) on COVID-19. Along with these users can also find helpline numbers for each state in India.
To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, a similar app has been launched by Singapore known as TraceTogether app. This app also uses Bluetooth signals to determine if you are near a TraceTogether user. The total number of COVID-19 cases in India has risen to 17545 out of which 14901 are active, 2887 have been cured. The death toll from the outbreak in India has claimed 567 lives. If you want to know about the latest guidelines released by the Ministry of Home Affairs do read the blog Lockdown 2.0 Guidelines.
Don’t you think that such apps are very useful to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic? Tell us in the comments below. Stay home, slow the spread, Stay tuned to the Trainman blog to get the latest updates on railways and COVID-19 virus. Trainman advises all the people across the nation to stay at home and follow lockdown rules amid coronavirus outbreak.