Blogs

Globally, over 3.7 million people are infected with the coronavirus. Governments, health authorities, research centers, and NGOs work in sync to curb the spread of this invisible enemy of mankind. As this COVID-19 pandemic has crippled our lives and the economy, technology has now lent a helping hand.

This dreaded disease is spread through direct contact with infected persons. In other words, COVID-19 is a contact-led disease and a contact tracing app can help us save people from getting infected. Recently, the age-old rivals Google and Apple have joined hands to make a contact tracing app with the help of Bluetooth technology. It is fair to mention that mobile apps for COVID-19 can certainly help the government and healthcare agencies to break the chain of virus spread.

How Does Contract Tracing App Work?

A Bluetooth-based contact tracing app is similar to a proximity tracking app. All the contact tracing mobile apps for COVID-19 can communicate with the user’s smartphones via Bluetooth and store the user’s data like device ID and timing at the local level. When individual tests positive for COVID-19, the system enables the government or health authorities to trace all the users with whom this individual has remained in contact.

On one hand, the healthcare officials can get the record of geographical movements of such infected people, and on the other hand, the app users, who were in contact with the infected person, can get the notification regarding the risk of infection. The contact tracing app also gives users advice to self-isolate. In a way, such mobile applications for coronavirus disease can play a vital role in breaking the chain of COVID-19.

Importance of Contact Tracing App

This image tells the story of how the infection spreads in the society. It also indicates that we cannot identify the infected person with whom we have come into contact by any means. Here, the contact tracing app for COVID-19 can work wonders. It can track all the users and notify users if someone with a high-risk profile is around with the help of Bluetooth. Also, this app can do backtracking, which means that if the user has the highest risk profile, the app can identify them and send notification about immediate help.

The contact tracing apps are useful in two ways-a quick assessment of users to define their risk levels and background assessment especially when the users follow social distancing, travel, and participate in self-isolation. Here are the key features of a COVID-19 contact tracing app that can make it efficient in achieving these two objectives.

Top Features of Mobile Apps for COVID-19

Usually, contact tracing apps for COVID-19 have three aspects- user-side application and web panels for city admin and super admin. We will go through the key features for all three aspects.

User-side Application

Registration and Profiling

Users can either register through the email address or social media account and contact number. After registration, they need to enter personal information including name, age, and address in the profile.

Vehicle Management

This feature is aimed at managing the user’s travel history. Users can enter their vehicle’s information like the model and registration number.

Self-assessment

This is one of the most important features of the contact tracing app.  Here, the users are given a questionnaire for assessing their health condition and define their risk scores. The questions are based on coronavirus symptoms like body temperature, breathing troubles, etc.

Contact Tracing

This is the most important app feature that works with the help of Bluetooth. The beacon technology, along with the Bluetooth technology, enables the app to share information like device ID and timestamps with other devices and the government authorities. This feature makes the contact tracing app capable of reducing the spread of coronavirus.

Backtracking

Another important feature of mobile applications for coronavirus outbreak is background assessment or backtracking users. The app works in the background to find whether the user comes in contact with an infected person or follows the norms of social distancing.

Other important features of a contact tracing app are multilingual support, trip advisor, and travel history.

Web panel for City admin

User Management

The user’s information stored in the device is accessible for the city admin. Whether it is a risk score, travel history, or the user’s movements, this feature enables the city admin to manage all the users by getting valuable information.

Transportation Management

Another important feature in the city admin web panel is transportation management. The city admin controls various means of transportation to curb the spread of infection and manage the routes to isolate the contaminated zones. It is possible through this feature to make the schedule as per the user’s starting point and destination. Geo-fencing technology helps the city admin to create a safe area for people’s movements, and the app users can get this information with ease.

Web panel for Super Admin

Dashboard

The super admin or the central authority can manage the entire lockdown or restricted movements across various areas through an interactive dashboard. The super admin can also remain in contact with city admins to take real-time action.

City admin management

This feature facilitates the super admin to bring all city admins on a single platform. The super admin can view all the details of various zones and communicate with the city admin as and when necessary.

User management

The admin can also view the details of app users like COVID-19 assessment and travel history. It can help them reduce the spread and break the chain of the virus.

Mobile applications for the coronavirus are designed to assist us in battling effectively against COVID-19. There is no exaggeration in mentioning that such apps are like a technological boon.

Concluding Lines

Several enterprises and NGOs focus on developing contact tracing apps for COVID-19 to save humanity from this severe outbreak. All such apps are based on Bluetooth technology and beacons. These apps are aimed at identifying the persons with the high risk and assessing the user’s health condition.

At Suria International, our experienced mobile app developers can build seamlessly-performing apps designed to minimize the impact of coronavirus outbreak on your company. As a leading mobile app development company in Singapore, Suria International can integrate technological advancements innovatively to meet the diverse requirements of modern businesses globally. Let’s connect and discuss your project requirements.