As the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases continues to rise in the country, the government has put in place several measures to curb the further spread of the virus.
Following the confirmation of positive cases, the government has embarked on tracing persons who may have come into contact with the patients, however, this appears to have a solution on the way with the world turning to technology to ease the process.
Answering to the rallying call by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Saturday, April 4 asking the youth in the country to step up, a young Kenyan by the name Peter Munyi has developed an application he believes will help in the tracing of contacts.
The Standard on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, reported that the app had one task, to issue an alert if you had come in contact with an infected person, or if one of the people you had come into contact with, later tests positive.
Upon download and installation of the Fuata app, a unique ID is issued to the user. As you go about your daily routine and come into contact with another person, the app communicates with the other individual's phone remotely through the same app.
“It records the ID of that person and keeps all that data for a period of 21 to 30 days. This data is used to identify anyone you would have met in those days and was later diagnosed with the virus,” Munyi stated.
With the rising concerns on privacy by technology apps, he assures that Fuata has no access to confidential, personal data.
“We are aware of how important privacy is and that’s why we won’t be using GPS but proximity sensing technology like what is used in Xender (a media sharing app.) This doesn’t disclose any information about someone,” Munyi assures.
Taking to his social media page on April 5, the programmer called upon sponsors to aid him in realising the dream that could save the lives of millions across the world.
Munyi stated that it would take him months to complete the app on his own, but a few weeks with the help of the right tech assistance.
"With the support of these huge companies, we can be done in one and a half weeks,” Munyi stated confidently.
The publication now reports that since the young innovator shared his idea, he has been approached by several interested parties, to ensure the app is up and running in the shortest time possible.
Countries around the world have employed technology in the fight against the virus, with the likes of Italy, China using robots to deliver food and medical supplies to patients, whereas in South Korea, the government is utilising satellite phone technology in the tracing of suspected Covid-19 patients.
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