While the Covid-19 pandemic shows no signs of stopping, authorities have introduced several mobile applications to help the public, frontliners as well as the authorities to make the travel, contact tracing and self assessment process much easier during and after the movement control order (MCO). Putrajaya recently announced three apps, namely Gerak Malaysia, MySejahtera and MyTrace, which can be downloaded by the public to help the government curb the spread of the Covid-19 infection.
Here are the significance and differences between the three apps and how to use them as intended by the authorities:
1. Gerak Malaysia
Developed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), this app is designed to help the police and Ministry of Health (MOH) in tracing and analysing users’ movement nationwide to contain the spread of the pandemic. Users also can register or apply for interstate travel via the app instead of applying manually at police stations. The app previously provided a digital ID in the form of a QR code, which contained users’ personal information, but not in the latest version, which will also not include notification for approved applications for interstate travel. It is available for both Android and iOS users.
2. MySejahtera
Jointly developed by four government bodies, including the National Security Council (NSC) and the Ministry of Health (MOH), this is a one-stop app to get the latest information and statistics on the pandemic. Useful for Persons Under Surveillance or those who are quarantined during the MCO, it has a self-evaluation feature, where one needs to fill up questionnaire on their current health status and once completed, a result will be provided as to whether the person is at risk of being a patient. The app also informs users of what action need to be taken if a person is infected with Covid-19, and has a tracker to track Covid-19 hotspots. The MOH has access to your data on the app, which allows it to take action if a possible infection has been identified. MySejahtera is the only app at the moment which is fully functional and available for both Android and iOS users.
3. MyTrace
Developed by MOSTI, this is a contact tracing app that uses Bluetooth to measure how long a user’s phone has been in proximity with other MyTrace users. If a user is diagnosed with Covid-19, this would allow the authorities to track and contact those who might have contracted it from them. Data can also be shared with the MySejahtera app, if a user has both installed on their phones. At the moment, the app is only made available for Android users, with an iOS version available soon.
Have you downloaded them to ease contact tracing, especially during the CMCO period and after? You should also check out these other useful sites and apps if you’re working from home!
(Source: Malay Mail)
