The challenge in dealing with coronavirus is that infected people are contagious long before they are visibly indicative. If we can quickly track and test everybody who an infected individual came in contact with and quarantine them before they spread the virus, we have a chance to slow its outbreak.
Keeping the same in mind, the Government of India recently launched an app Aarogya Setu, to track the real-time movements of individuals to regulate if they have been in the proximity of COVID-19 positive patients.
Within a week of its launch, the Aarogya Setu app has crossed over 10 million downloads on Google Play Store. The app has also become one of the top free apps in the country on both Google Play and the iOS App Store.
The objective of the app is proactively reaching out to and informing the users of the app regarding risks, best practices and applicable advisories about the control of the coronavirus.
Apart from the main tracker feature, the app lets you take a quick test to check if you have matching symptoms. It also gives notifications if you come, even unknowingly, in the vicinity of an infected individual. However, your movement data will need to be followed frequently to ensure the service works as intended. The government has also assured that the data is encrypted and will not be shared. The app is available in 11 languages.
Also, recently, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE board) has mentioned all schools and institutions to urge students and parents to install the app.
How to use Aarogya Setu app?
