500,000 people have downloaded the new Covid Tracker App, since its launch last night.
The application, set up by the HSE and the Department of Health, aims to have 60% of the target population registered to reduce the time it takes to trace close contacts of confirmed cases.
It helps track symptoms and identify people who have been in contact with those who test positive for the virus by sending notifications to their phones.
Some data protection experts are raising privacy concerns about the app, but HSE CEO Paul Reid says information is not being stored on a government server.
Infectious disease expert from UCC Prof Gerry Killeen has told The Way It Is that the App can help us ”shut down” the virus.
Prof Killeen is warning against foreign travel for holidays and warns that we need to keep stricter restrictions on travel or a second and third wave of the coronavirus is inevitable.
