The StopCovid application launched at the beginning of June by the government to trace the contacts of people affected by the coronavirus has been downloaded 2.3 million times but has only enabled 72 at-risk contacts to be notified, according to figures provided on Wednesday to the AFP by the Directorate General of Health.
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The ministry "encourages" the French to download it
The application "has been downloaded nearly 2.3 million times, on the Android and Apple platforms, since its entry into service on June 2. To date, 1,169 QR codes have been used and 72 at-risk contacts notified", specified the DGS. The difference between the number of people who report being infected by scanning the QR code provided during a positive screening test and the number of notifications sent can be explained by the still very low use of the application in the population or in the entourage of the infected person, or because the latter only installed it after receiving the result of his test.
"The application is effective when a person and his contacts have it. (...) Using StopCovid can be particularly useful in areas where the virus is actively circulating" and in crowded places such as bars and restaurants. restaurants, assures the Ministry of Solidarity and Health, which "obviously encourages all French people to download the application".
Incompatible with most European plotting applications
The principle of the Stopcovid application is to use Bluetooth wireless technology to detect and keep track of all people crossed over the last 15 days at less than one meter, before warning them in the event of contamination. . The system is controversial, both in principle and in the technical choices made by the government, its opponents considering in particular that it is not sufficiently useful in view of the risks it entails, for example concerning data protection. personal.
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The French application is also incompatible with most European tracking applications, which are based on a technological solution offered by Apple and Google. The personal data gendarme, the CNIL, at the end of July put the government on notice to settle "several irregularities" on the application within a month and to comment on the effectiveness of the application in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.