Last week, the European Commission (EC) made clear the need to create a structure for tracking and alerts, to combat COVID-19, through mobile applications. To help clarify this issue, Brussels has now published a video explaining how these apps can keep citizens safe and help Europe return to normal. The European Commission says that applications should be an "important element" in the strategies of each Member State. In a video, about a minute, explains how.
Applications created in the middle of a pandemic can contribute to the identification of transmission chains, so they can help both in terms of prevention and in the transmission of the virus. But how does this become possible?
Bluetooth technology is a great ally of applications, which use the signal transmitted by each cell phone. In this way, other equipment close to each person is identified, without having to collect user names and their location, guarantees the EC. As soon as citizens get close to an infected person, they can be notified via an alert on their cell phone and know if they should be quarantined or tested.
The initiative of Google and Apple, which have joined forces to combat the pandemic of COVID-19, an example of a solution that uses Bluetooth technology. The objective is, through the use of Bluetooth technology, "to help governments and health agencies to reduce the spread of the virus", with the user's privacy and security being essential elements.
The European Commission also stresses that the use of these apps will be voluntary and that it requires users' consent. As the EC had explained earlier, confidentiality will be fully guaranteed and data will be deleted.
