Press Releases

The Ministry of Health and the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy held a press conference to present the national digital contact tracing application CovTracer – Exposure Notification (CovTracer-EN).

Digital contact tracing apps can help break the chain of coronavirus infections and save lives by complementing and supporting the tracing process. CovTracer-EN, developed by the Centres of Excellence CYENS (formerly RISE) and KIOS, under the supervision of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy (DMRID) in cooperation with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the National eHealth Authority, is part of the State's effort to develop digital and innovative solutions against the pandemic. All citizens are urged to download the app and actively contribute to the efforts made at a national and European level to limit the spread of Covid-19 and protect our society.

CovTracer-EN uses the Bluetooth protocol and detects signals from the apps installed by other users that have been in proximity according to the definition of “close contact” in the MoH relevant protocol. Confirmed cases of Covid-19 who downloaded the application, have the option to enter the diagnostic code provided by the MoH Epidemiological Unit into the application and anonymously inform their potential contacts of the risk of infection. Please note that the application operates on a purely voluntary basis and preserves the user’s data privacy.

The development of the CovTracer-EN application is part of a European Initiative, which aims at the development and seamless cross-border interoperability of tracing applications developed at a national level by member states. To this end, the European Federation Gateway Service has already been created, allowing the exchange of information between national databases and control of the virus transmission chain at pan-European level.

According to the Minister of Health, “proceeding with a gradual lifting of restrictions, there is an imminent need to continue to focus on the tracing process”. This app, noted the Minister, “is becoming an integral part of the national action plan against the pandemic. We are proceeding with the necessary adjustments to ensure its seamless integration into the wider effort to control the spread of the virus”.

The Deputy Minister of Research Innovation and Digital Policy, Mr Kyriacos Kokkinos, thanked all the parties for the constructive cooperation and referred to the importance of the mass adoption of the application so as to fully reap the potential benefits arising from its use. According to the Minister “research has shown that even if just 15% of the population downloads the app, infections can be reduced by 15% and deaths by 11%”.

The application is available in both Google Play Store and Apple App Store as follows:

• Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cy.gov.dmrid.covtracer
• Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/covtracer/id1510330601

This project has received funding from the European Union's Emergency Support Instrument programme under grant agreement No. CYPRUS-LC-01591248.

For more information about the application please visit the website: www.covtracer.dmrid.gov.cy

(EK/ECHR)