New Corona App for notification of suspected heavy contact Started from today June 19 4:09
An app for smartphones that will notify you if you are suspected of having a deep contact with a person infected with the new coronavirus will be available from 19th. The government is calling for widespread use as it will lead to prompt inspections and prevent the spread of infection.
This app records each other's data when people with smartphones approach each other at a certain distance, and if the user is infected with the new coronavirus, there is a suspicion that rich contact is recorded with the other party. It is a mechanism to notify you when there is.
The application will be available to the public on the 19th, will be available on the Internet in the afternoon, and will be available for free download.
If the people who enter the application are at a distance of about 1 meter for more than 15 minutes, it will be recorded as contacts, but the information that will identify the individual such as phone number and location information will not be recorded, and it will be contacted after 14 days The information itself will also be deleted.
The Japanese version of the app has a high degree of anonymity compared to the ones that have been introduced overseas, and as it is used by many people, it will promptly be inspected and prevent the spread of infection. I will.
How the app works
This is the mechanism of the contact confirmation application introduced in Japan.
A short-distance wireless communication called Bluetooth is used to confirm the contact, and if the smartphones on which this application is installed are at a distance of approximately 1 meter for 15 minutes or more, mutual information will be recorded.
The information is encrypted, and no records such as phone numbers and location information that can be used to identify an individual or device are left. After 14 days, the contact information itself will be deleted.
If the app user is infected with the new coronavirus, a notification will be sent to the other party's smartphone where the contact was recorded. However, although the date of contact is known, specific information such as "who was infected" and "when and where was contacted" is not notified.
After that, appropriate actions are taken assuming the possibility of infection, contact information of the consultation counter, etc. are displayed, and the person who receives the notification will see the doctor etc. at their own discretion.
It is also up to the infected person to notify them. If you are using the application after the infection has been confirmed, the public health center will inform you of the "processing number" necessary for notification, but only if you enter this number in the application, the person you contact will be notified. It has become.
On the other hand, since all this information is encrypted, it is said that the government and local governments can only understand the number of infected people and contacts, it is not possible to identify the individual and track the infection route etc. ..
The government explains that the purpose of the app is to promptly inform users of possible infections and to take actions to prevent the spread of infections.
"Contact confirmation app" overseas
The contact confirmation app is already in operation in about 30 countries, but there are various mechanisms such as handling contact information and information that can be used to identify individuals.
Singapore, which was introduced in March as a pioneer in other countries, requires registration of a telephone number, the government manages contact history data, and a person in charge directly contacts a person who may have a heavy contact. Although the method is adopted, it is said that the usage rate is only about 30% due to concerns about leakage of personal information.
Similarly, even in India and Australia, which introduced a system that requires registration of telephone numbers, the usage rates are below 30%.
In Japan, studies were conducted toward the introduction with reference to such overseas examples, but at the expert meeting of the government, it was pointed out that many citizens could not expect the effect without using the application, Given the persistent concerns from the perspective of protecting personal information, the government has decided to maximize anonymity and minimize the involvement of government agencies.
On the other hand, since notification of infection information and actions after receiving notification are left to the judgment of each individual, it is unclear whether the effectiveness of preventing the spread of infection can be ensured.
It seems that the issue will be how to spread the app while deepening the public's understanding of the purpose and anonymity of the app.