Bluezone is now available for Android devices on the Google Play Store and iOS devices on the App Store. — Photo vietnambiz.vn

Nearly eight million people out of Viet Nam's 76.8 million smartphone users have downloaded a domestically developed contact-tracing mobile app to identify and alert people who have interacted with COVID-19 patients, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC).

The smartphone app Bluezone relies on Bluetooth signal to log when two users are near each other, information that can later be used for contact tracing of COVID-19 cases.

The app is now available on the Google Play Store and the App Store.

The development of Bluezone is overseen by the MIC and the Ministry of Health. It was launched on April 18.

The MIC has been urging people to install the app, helping sharply increase the number of users. However, the figure is far behind the ministry’s target of 50 million active Bluezone users - the minimum number it believes is needed for the app to have a meaningful impact.

Bluezone would help authorities quickly identify people likely to be COVID-19 patents, helping prevent larger outbreaks of the disease. — VNS