Europe to launch coronavirus contact tracing app initiative

Scientists and technologists from eight European countries will join forces to develop a contact tracing app to warn those at risk of infection.

The Pan-European Privacy Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT) will monitor movement within countries and across borders, and will be crucial in containing future flare-ups of COVID-19, even after the curve has flattened. 

"The PEPP-PT platform others can build on includes an anonymous and privacy-preserving digital proximity tracing approach, which is in full compliance with GDPR and can also be used when traveling between countries," said Hans-Christian Boos, founder of business automation company Arago and a member of a digital advisory council to the German government.

The UK is also poised to launch its own contact tracking app just before or after the lockdown is lifted, according to a report in SkyNews.

Meanwhile, Singapore's TraceTogether app tracks connections made between people's smartphones using Bluetooth has been quite successful in containing the spread.