Digital contact tracking with Luca
Contact tracing is the key to containing the Corona pandemic. To further improve this in Waldeck-Frankenberg, the district is now also using the mobile phone app "Luca". The application enables encrypted digital contact tracing via smartphone.
People who have downloaded the app onto their mobile phone can use it to check in for visits to restaurants or events via a QR code, for example. The application registers the visit. If it turns out afterwards that someone had unknowingly come into contact with someone infected with Corona during the visit, the district health service can contact the user quickly and easily - and thus trace and interrupt chains of infection in an even more targeted manner. Protection against infection and spread of the virus can thus be further increased.
This can be particularly advantageous for the catering, hotel and leisure sectors. As soon as it is possible to open the industry again, the Luca app can supplement handwritten visit lists there - and in the event of an emergency, support the contact tracking of the district's specialist health service in a data-secure manner. "We have reached a point in the pandemic where - in addition to vaccinations and applicable rules - we should use other options, especially digital ones, that can further support the containment of the virus," says Karl-Friedrich Frese, First District Commissioner and Head of the District Health Department. The app is a good instrument and it would be ideal if as many businesses as possible participate - even beyond the boundaries of the district. "For the use of the app, we are therefore also in close exchange with the representatives from gastronomy, tourism and the event industry from Waldeck-Frankenberg." They are also positively disposed towards the use of the app - after all, it offers them perspectives for a possible opening of their offers.
The app works like this: You download the application onto your smartphone. When you register, you are asked to enter your contact details. After a few clicks, the app is ready to use. Via QR codes, you can log in to locations - for example, at a table in a restaurant. After the visit, logging out is not necessary. The app registers this automatically. If it turns out afterwards that one had contact with an infected person, one is informed about the Corona outbreak - without having to evaluate handwritten lists with contact data.
"Digital support usually makes this even faster and more targeted," Frese continues. "We call on all people in Waldeck-Frankenberg and also beyond the district borders to use this offer if possible - and to download the app." As soon as tourism and gastronomy are allowed to reopen, the majority of restaurants, bars, leisure businesses, etc. should also make it possible to use the app in their establishments. The district has already received positive signals from the gastronomy and event industry in Waldeck-Frankenberg. However, the app can also be used for private gatherings or celebrations as soon as these are possible again - and creates a personal contact and visit history in case of emergency.
The data security of the application is that the operator does not see the data of his guests. These only become visible to the district's health service on demand - precisely when an infected person releases his or her contacts. This is exactly how it already happens, but without the digital support. All data cannot be read by third parties. The app can be downloaded from the App Store or the Google Play Store, depending on the type of smartphone.