Amidst the coronavirus crisis, tech is playing an important role to combat the spread of the virus, with companies using smartphones to track users" locations and determine if they"ve been in contact with someone who has contracted the virus. Germany, which has the fifth-highest number of cases, will also have a coronavirus contact tracing app ready for the citizens to download and use on their phones in the next three to four weeks, Jens Spahn, Federal Health Minister, stated on Friday.
Spahn said that developers are working intensively to ensure that data protection standards are "as perfect as possible," and this process would take nearly three to four weeks to run to completion. He also said that the government, both federal and state, would encourage voluntary usage of the app when it is available for download, so people can quickly learn when they"ve been exposed to the virus. This information could help them take appropriate steps.
As per John Hopkins University, there have been 137,698 coronavirus cases in the country, with 4,052 mortalities. The low mortality rate can be attributed to early and extensive testing.
Source: Reuters