As the deadly Coronavirus continues to afflict different countries
on a global scale, coders from South Korea have developed apps to assist in
controlling the spread of the virus.
The developers use data from public government information in
designing the applications, and there has been an increase in the number of
downloads since they launched the products.
The apps help track the spread of the disease in South Korea.
Speaking to CNN, one of the developers of Corona 100m app Bae Won-Seok stated that, “The installs are increasing
about 20,000 every hour.”
Corona 100m app allows users to see the date a coronavirus patient
was confirmed to have the disease, along with the patient’s nationality, age,
gender, and where the patent visited. A person using this app can also view how
close they are to coronavirus patients.
According to Google Play, the app has been installed more
than 1 million times since its launch on February 11. Bae added that a recent
surge in downloads, caused by the increasing number of cases in South Korea, crashed
the app’s server.
He said he was concerned about the number of coronavirus
cases in his neighborhood that he sent his daughter to stay with her
grandparents to reduce the risk of exposure.
The other app goes by the name Corona Map developed by Lee
Jun-young. He explains that he made the app because he found the government
data hard to understand, stating that although heath officials release locations
that show where coronavirus patients have been the official information is not
very visual.
He added that, “When I think that this app can prevent the
spread of Coronavirus patients by advising people not to go to certain places, I
feel proud.”
As of Friday February 27, South Korea had confirmed 2,337
cases of the virus. Another application available is called Corona Doctor.
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