COVID-19 contact-tracing application to be out soon

CEBU, Philippines — A Cebuano scholar from the Department of Science and Technology has invented a phone application that makes contact-tracing easier, amid the rising number of COVID-19 patients in the country.

The application reportedly has a response system in which users experiencing influenza-like illnesses (ILI) can alert.

In a press conference yesterday, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has disclosed that they are just waiting for the approval of Google before the app can officially be used and downloaded.

"We can now electronically trace those persons whom a person who may be developing symptoms had been in contact with in the past few days," Garcia told reporters.

The governor explained that in order for the app to be effective, it must be downloaded and used by the majority of those living in Cebu.

She added that upon the approval of this app, the Office of the Governor will immediately issue an executive order directing all local chief executives to urge their constituents to download the app.

"Once this is out, we will launch it and we will be issuing an executive order calling on all mayors calling on their...mga constituents to download this app," Garcia told reporters.

The app, Garcia said, will not ask for any personal information. Upon downloading the app, users will only be assigned a QR code.

So far, there is only one reported case of COVID-19 in the Province of Cebu. The patient is a 65-year-old male confined at Chong Hua Hospital in Mandaue.

In the entire country, the positive cases have continued to increase with the latest tally of confirmed cases reaching to 462.

The death toll has also reached 33. Meanwhile, 18 patients, some belonging to vulnerable age groups, have recovered.  GAN (FREEMAN)