Covid tracker app committee has met just twice

It emerged in October that the app, which is designed to act as a digital contact tracing service regarding confirmed Covid cases using Bluetooth ‘handshakes’ between smartphones, is currently notifying just 6% of positive cases of the virus. Picture: Leah Farrell/Rollingnews.ie

A governance committee for Ireland’s HSE-sponsored Covid Tracker app has met only twice this year – and concluded that issues may exist with the app’s effectiveness.

The Covid Tracker App Advisory Committee met virtually on July 12, 2021, and concluded that due to the Covid public health restrictions, many people “had not had the opportunity to come into contact with other users, which would impact on the app’s efficacy”, according to the meeting’s minutes.