China launches ‘Close Contact Detector’ app for the Coronavirus

China has launched a new mobile application that lets people check their risk of catching the widely spreading Coronavirus.

The application, named “Close Contact Detector” lets the user know if at any point they are in the same vicinity as someone who is a confirmed or suspected Coronavirus patient.

The app runs by asking the user their name and ID number. Once they are registered on the app, the app tells them whether they’ve been in close contact with a suspected or diagnosed Coronavirus patient. It also allows two other people to check their statuses on the same device. If someone has been in close contact, they are advised to stay at home, contact the local health authorities and get their diagnosis procedure started.

The app was developed and deployed by the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporations and the government of China. They have not yet revealed the exact working of the application. They define the term ‘close contact’ as people living in the same house, working closely together, studying in the same classrooms, or medical personnel handling the cases of Coronavirus patients. People on the same public transport for a given period of time or longer are also considered to be in close contact.

The Coronavirus has been diagnosed in nearly 24,000 people around the world and has taken the lives of more than 10,000 of those people. The Chinese government, with the help of this app and other measures they have put up, are doing their best to try and contain this lethal virus and stop it from starting a global epidemic.