The Italian government has approved a coronavirus contact tracing app aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus.
The decision was taken in an overnight cabinet meeting, the government said on Thursday in a statement.
Data provided through the app will help facilitate tracing of persons who come in close contact with someone positive for coronavirus.
The data will be completely anonymous and all the data will be destroyed by year’s end.
The use of the app, known as “Immuni,” will not be compulsory, but officials say it will be effective only if at least 50 per cent of the population downloads it.
The app will allow those who test positive to warn people he or she may have been in close contact with via an anonymous message. Immuni will not use geolocation technology, however the app will make use of Bluetooths on phones. Therefore people are expected to always have their Bluetooth turned on.
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Health authorities are encouraging Italians to use the app as a key tool to reduce the spread of the virus.
According to Vittorio Colao, a former Chief Executive of Vodafone and Head of a Government Advisory Panel on Lockdown Exit Plans: “It is important to launch it by the end of May,
“If everybody or nearly everybody has it by the summer, good; otherwise it will not be of much use.”