China Creates an App That Tells People If They’ve Close Contact with nCoV Patients

China has just launched a new app that allows people to check if they have recently been in close contact with someone who has the novel coronavirus.

The app was launched on Saturday, 8 February, and enables users to scan a QR code via mobile apps like Alipay, WeChat or QQ to make an inquiry.

In order to use the app, users would have to register with their phone number, name and ID number, which if I’m not wrong is like your IC number. 

I’m not very sure how it works, but I think this might be how.

If you perhaps believe that someone in your close contact list might have the coronavirus, you can key in their details to check. If you realise that you have been in close contact with this person and they’ve been said to have the virus, you should immediately stay at home and get in touch with local health authorities.

But it seems that you are only able to inquire for three ID numbers. I’m not exactly sure how you’re going to get someone else’s ID numbers, but that’s apparently the only thing you can use to check.

The app was developed by the General Office of the State Council, the National Health Commission and China Electronics Technology Group Corporations (CETC). According to the CETC, the app is supported by many government agencies like the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Transport, China Railway and the Civil Aviation Administration of China to ensure the data available is highly accurate, reliable and authoritative.

Who Is Considered A Close Contact?

A close contact is someone who has come in close distance – without any effective protection – with confirmed cases, suspected cases or mild cases where the person was ill or showed asymptomatic conditions, according to the National Health Commission.

This means that people who work near one another, share the same classroom, live in the same apartment; medical staff, family members or other people who have been in close contact with patients in a closed environment and other patients in the same room and their caregivers; as well as passengers and crew members who have been in the same transportation facility with patients and infected cases are all considered being in close contact.

All passengers in the same cabin in a fully enclosed air-conditioned train will also be considered being in close contact.

If it’s already difficult to retrieve the ID number of someone you know, I don’t know how you’re going to retrieve the ID number of a stranger you met on the train. 

So yes, while this seems like a pretty good app because it helps you to identify who has the virus and allows you to take the necessary measures to ensure that you remain safe, it may also backfire and spread even more fear instead.