Thanks to the self-control of the Hungarian people, the first phase of the protection against the coronavirus was taken successfully in the spring and early summer. Back then, from outbound restrictions to the digital transition of schools, rigorous, drastic steps were needed to stop the spread of the epidemic. Together, we gained time to prepare our health care system, which became able to safely take care of even a larger number of patients at once.
A significant change took place in the autumn: while in the past it was mainly the most vulnerable elderly people who became ill, the carriers of the virus now come from the younger ones. They go out more often, meet more people so they can spread the virus more widely. This enhances the importance of effective contact research, the traditional way of interviewing coronavirus patients.
Hungary must continue to operate. The government is therefore working to protect people’s health and the Hungarian economy at the same time without shutting down the country. In the second phase of protection, a wider toolbox of innovative solutions will be needed to keep the spread of the epidemic within manageable limits.
An effective tool for this is the VirusRadar mobile application, which can be used next to the traditional contact research methods. The mass usage of the application makes it possible to identify strangers with whom an infected person has been in a room for a long time, but whose data and contact details cannot be provided with an interview.
The application uses Bluetooth to communicate with other nearby users running the application. The device records those who are at least 2 meters apart for at least 20 minutes. The application does not record a phone number it uses a pseudonymous identification code. If a user becomes infected with the virus, epidemiologists will ask you to share the data collected by the application, helping them to more easily identify other users who have come in contact with it in the last 2 weeks. Professionals will then notify users that they have been exposed to a proven COVID-19 infection and inform them of the steps they need to take.
The use of VirusRadar is safe user data is completely secure, its downloaders can contribute to the success of the defence with minimal effort. The application can be downloaded from the Google Play store, further useful information about its features and operation is available at www.virusradar.hu.
We encourage the usage of the VirusRadar to protect our health and endangered relatives and acquaintances.
Source: Ministry of Innovation and Technology