Many private sector companies have developed various digital apps sponsored by governments all around the world in an attempt to support the efforts in fighting COVID-19. The main goal of these apps is to monitor the virus, provide medical services, and raise awareness among the people, etc.
Germany has made major achievements in this field. The German health authority launched a smartwatch app in partnership with healthtech startup Thryve to help monitor the virus spread and analyze whether the adopted measures are working. The Corona Data Donation app gathers vital signs from volunteers wearing smartwatches or fitness trackers (such as pulse, temperature, and sleep hours) to analyze whether they are symptomatic of COVID-19 symptoms.
The results are displayed on an interactive online map accessible to everyone. It is used with other data to help health entities assess the status of the virus, and measure the speed of the spread and its geographical locations.
The app gathers all user data, including activity levels such as sleep hours and other health indicators like heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure. Moreover, users are requested to provide information related to age, weight, height, and sex. The app also asks for their postcode to determine the geographical location of the results. In some cases, it is believed that a COVID-19 infection, even if mild, may affect sleep, activity levels, or resting heart rate.
The Corona Data Donation app is available for download on Google Play Store and Apple Store, knowing that all data is continuously monitored and processed anonymously. The company that developed the app hopes to reach 100,000 users or 10% of Germany’s smartwatch owners.
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