At least it works!
Translated by Thomas Ansell
A week and a half after the start of testing the new CoronaMelder app in Drenthe, the app has given its first infection warning, says the GGD Drenthe. As reported by the Asser Courant.
The notification/warning was sent to all people that had been within a close distance of a person that later had a positive Coronavirus test. Bart Raaijmakers, of the GGD Drenthe, says that there isn’t data available regarding how many people received the alert, nor is there information about which locality the alert was sent in.
“Due to privacy reasons, we cannot access that information. The person that tested positive put the information into the app, and this is then sent to a server. After that the alert was sent to people that were in close proximity for fifteen minutes, or had social contact with the person. The contact is measured by Bluetooth connection”, he said. Whilst some powerful Bluetooth devices can have ranges of up to 50 metres, most often a phone’s Bluetooth with work up to 10 metres or so.
Raaijmakers said that the alert didn’t lead to any more people than usual attending a Coronavirus test in Assen, Emmen, or Meppel, however the app did help with contact tracing- which led to tests being undertaken.
Image: the German Coronavirus app, via Flickr user Marco Verch. License here.
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