COVID-19 Exposure Notification System is now available for iOS and Android
The Authority for Government Innovation (AIG) reported this Monday that the notification system for exposure to COVID-19 called “Protect yourself Panama” is now available for the Android and iOS systems.
The administrator of the AIG, Luis Oliva, explained that this tool is implemented through an alliance with the companies Google and Apple, through which it has proceeded to integrate into a single system all the information of the people who have made the test for COVID-19.
"What we have done is fully automate the process thanks to the support of these companies that have provided us with the necessary infrastructure so that for the Panamanian people this is zero cost ... in all Apple brand phones they only have to configure in the settings menu the exposure notifications by enabling them; those who own Android phones should download the Protect yourself Panama application. As of 8:00 am today, the notification has been sent to all Apple Android and iOS phones of all Panamanians that exposure notifications are activated by the Ministry of Health,” Oliva explained.
He added that it is expected that during the next 44 hours all Panamanians and foreigners have been notified and activate this service, which will allow them to know in a timely manner if they have been exposed to a positive for COVID-19, and take the necessary steps to avoid complications, according to the protocols already established by the Ministry of Health.
He indicated that citizens with Android devices can download the app "Protect yourself Panama" on Google Play, which is completely voluntary.
"Notifications of exposure to COVID-19 is a process that is not mandatory and does not exempt the traceability controls carried out daily by the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund, the calls will continue, the follow-ups households will continue, it is simply a tool that will allow us to have this information in a faster way," he said.
He added that people who are tested for the coronavirus, the result will come to them through a text message and if it is positive they will be sent a link so that they can share the information with all the contacts that they were less than two meters away for 10 minutes, so that these people, if they had any symptoms, could contact line 169 or approach a medical facility.
"When activating the Protect yourself system, as long as you are 2 meters away from another person for a minimum of 10 minutes, both phones will exchange secure and anonymous data via Bluetooth. If another user that you were close to gets a positive test result detecting COVID-19, it can notify you of these events through the application anonymously. The system will send a notification to your phone and to that of any other person that the notifying user may have exposed, provided that they are also a user of the If you test positive, you can easily and anonymously notify others to help slow the spread of COVID-19," the AIG said.
He clarified that when activating this service, no GPS information, location or identifiers or personal information of users will be collected or stored, and the information will not be shared.
"What we have done is fully automate the process thanks to the support of these companies that have provided us with the necessary infrastructure so that for the Panamanian people this is zero cost ... in all Apple brand phones they only have to configure in the settings menu the exposure notifications by enabling them; those who own Android phones should download the Protect yourself Panama application. As of 8:00 am today, the notification has been sent to all Apple Android and iOS phones of all Panamanians that exposure notifications are activated by the Ministry of Health,” Oliva explained.
He added that it is expected that during the next 44 hours all Panamanians and foreigners have been notified and activate this service, which will allow them to know in a timely manner if they have been exposed to a positive for COVID-19, and take the necessary steps to avoid complications, according to the protocols already established by the Ministry of Health.
He indicated that citizens with Android devices can download the app "Protect yourself Panama" on Google Play, which is completely voluntary.
"Notifications of exposure to COVID-19 is a process that is not mandatory and does not exempt the traceability controls carried out daily by the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund, the calls will continue, the follow-ups households will continue, it is simply a tool that will allow us to have this information in a faster way," he said.
He added that people who are tested for the coronavirus, the result will come to them through a text message and if it is positive they will be sent a link so that they can share the information with all the contacts that they were less than two meters away for 10 minutes, so that these people, if they had any symptoms, could contact line 169 or approach a medical facility.
"When activating the Protect yourself system, as long as you are 2 meters away from another person for a minimum of 10 minutes, both phones will exchange secure and anonymous data via Bluetooth. If another user that you were close to gets a positive test result detecting COVID-19, it can notify you of these events through the application anonymously. The system will send a notification to your phone and to that of any other person that the notifying user may have exposed, provided that they are also a user of the If you test positive, you can easily and anonymously notify others to help slow the spread of COVID-19," the AIG said.
He clarified that when activating this service, no GPS information, location or identifiers or personal information of users will be collected or stored, and the information will not be shared.