Ireland’s Covid tracker app reaches one million downloads in 48 hours

The app intends to speed up Ireland's response to potential Covid-19 outbreaks.

HSE CEO Paul Reid has confirmed that one million people have downloaded Ireland's Covid-19 tracker app. The app was launched on Tuesday by the Department of Health and the HSE and is designed to help with contact tracing. "Right now I can confirm that we have now reached 1M registered users of the CovidTrackerApp," Reid tweeted on Wednesday night. "The app wont make you immune to the virus but it can help to reduce the risk. Lets keep it going. Please sign up and encourage your network to do so also." The Covid Tracker app is available to download from the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android and is designed to provide digital tracing of close contacts of confirmed cases of Covid-19. It works through the use of Bluetooth technology to determine whether you've been in close contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19.

“The app comes at an important time as we begin to move about more and will support us in managing future cases,"Reid said on Wednesday.

"I would encourage those who have not yet downloaded the app to do so, and for the 1 million people who have already downloaded the app, I would ask them to share it with their friends and families. The more people who download the app the greater its impact will be.”

Users can input and track their own symptoms, receive advice on what to do and be able to anonymously warn close contacts if they test positive for Covid-19. The app is available across the island of Ireland, and those travelling to Ireland from abroad will also be encouraged to utilise the app while in the country. Dr Ronan Glynn, acting Chief Medical Officer, said on Wednesday that the app would require uptake from a "substantial proportion of the population" in order for it to be effective, however it's unclear what that exact figure is.