Voluntary contact tracing app downloaded by 37,400 in first week

This is the number of users who have downloaded the app #OstaniZdrav (#StayHealthy) by Sunday at 1pm, the ministry said on Monday, adding that the feedback was positive, with users praising the user-friendliness and low battery consumption.

The modified version of the German app Corona-Warn-App has been available in the Google Play store since Monday at 4pm, and was downloaded by around 5,000 mobile phone users in the first 24 hours, said Minister Boštjan Koritnik.

The app is currently available only for devices with the Android operating system and one of the most frequently asked questions at the ministry's app call centre is when it will be available for the devices using the iOS operating system.

Asked how many ten-place TAN codes, which are received by individuals with a confirmed coronavirus infection, had been entered in the app in the first week, the ministry said that this data was still being collected in cooperation with health authorities.

The data are also being analysed and will be communicated to the public expectedly in the coming days.

Presenting the app a week ago, the ministry said that should the situation deteriorate, it might also develop an app whose use will be mandatory for some persons.

The government has recently put in place a legislative provision that would allow it to make use of a mobile app mandatory for those with confirmed infections and persons who have been ordered to quarantine.

Koritnik said at the time that the reasons for which this provision had been inserted in the latest anti-corona legislation in July had not ceased. On the contrary, it increasingly looks like a mandatory app might be needed.