Testing of the Immuni contact-tracing
app designed to help Italy manage the second phase of the
coronavirus emergency is set to start after the privacy
ombudsman gave the green light.
Download.
It will be tested in Liguria, Puglia, Marche and Abruzzo from
June 8 and it has been possible to download it throughout Italy
since June 1 on Apple and Google's digital shops.
It will be a few days before the application is operative
throughout the nation.
Innovative Support.
"It is an innovative, technological support to the
initiatives the government has already put into place to limit
the spread of the COVID-19 virus," said a joint statement by the
ministries of health and of innovation and the premier's
department.
"It was developed in compliance with Italian and European
legislation to protect privacy".
Website.
All the relevant information about the functioning of the
system is available on the immuni.italia.it website.
Positive Cases.
"It is starting with a test that will last several days and
then, next week or the week after, it will be extended to
everyone," explained Deputy Health Minister Pierpaolo Sileri.
He said that the app "is part of a positive-case tracing
system in which the competent doctor has an essential role".
App Functions Automatically.
Use of Immuni is voluntary and it is based on bluetooth
technology.
Once installed, all that is required is some information,
such as the town of residence, and the system will function
automatically.
The smartphones it is present on will exchange automatically
generated codes - when they are less than a metre from each
other - in an anonymous way to make it possible to trace who is
at risk in the case in which someone contracts the virus.
Notification
When health facilities or local health authorities register a
new positive case, following the consent of the individuals, the
health operators insert a code into the system.
At that point, the system sends notification to the users who
have been in close contact with the positive case.
Data Stored on Devices.
The data collected will be stored on the individual devices,
not on a central server.
Authorization.
The system will not trace movements, only close contacts
between smartphones, and it will only be possible to share data
collected with the authorization of the smartphone's user.
At then end, all the data collected and shared with the
central server, managed by Sogei, will be cancelled by December
31, 2020.
500,000 Downloads in 24 Hours.
Innovation Minister Paola Pisano said the app registered
500,000 downloads in the first 24 hours it was available.
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