The SwissCovid contact tracing app helps to break the chain of infection. The more people who use the app, the more effective it becomes. These are the facts you need to know.
Lockdown is over: over the last few weeks and months, Switzerland has gradually relaxed the measures for containing the coronavirus. People can once again participate more freely in social life. This increases the importance of tracing infections – in future, larger outbreaks can only be prevented if people who have been in contact with an infected person can be traced.
That’s why the SwissCovid contact tracing app is being used in Switzerland. A study carried out by sotomo, commissioned by the federal government, shows that there is some uncertainty surrounding certain aspects of the app.
We’ve put together a list of the five most important facts about the app.
If you have tested positive for coronavirus, you will receive a Covidcode (release code) from the cantonal authorities. This lets you activate the app’s notification feature. This will inform anyone you have been in contact with at a distance of less than two metres for more than 15 minutes. Of course, the app can’t tell if these people were wearing a face mask or if there was a plexiglass screen between you and the other person. However, walls (e.g. with your neighbours) are relatively effectively filtered out.
If you are informed via the app that you have possibly been infected, please do the following: