New Delhi, October 13: Aarogya Setu app on Tuesday recieved praise from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for helping the health departments in India to identify clusters and expand testing in those areas. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lauded Aarogya Setu app while saying that technology like mobile applications were making "tried and tested public health tools" like self-isolation and contract tracing more "effective". Aarogya Setu App Crosses 16 Crore Downloads; Here's How to Download Aarogya Setu Mobile App.

"Aarogya Setu app from India has been downloaded by 150 million users, and has helped city public health departments to identify areas where clusters could be anticipated and expand testing in a targeted way," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing. The Indian government had launched the Aarogya Setu app in April to alert users when they come in close contact with a COVID-19 infected person. Dharavi Gets Praise From WHO For Breaking COVID-19 Transmission Chain, Aaditya Thackeray Lauds 'Dharavikars' For Chasing Coronavirus.

Developed by the National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Aarogya Setu app was launched as the country's Bluetooth-based contact tracing app, with an objective of mapping of likely hotspots and dissemination of relevant information about COVID-19.

The app utilises the data provided by users, to track if you may have come in close contact with a Covid-positive person via Bluetooth and location generated social graphs. It uses contact tracing to record details of all the people you may have come in contact with during normal activities.

The app also consists of features such as the Self-Assessment Test, a complete list of helpline numbers across the country, and a Twitter feed that displays all the latest tweets from the Ministry of Health. (With IANS inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 13, 2020 11:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).