KUCHING: A location tracking app has been developed to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak in the state.
The Qmunity app, developed as part of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project by Kuching South City Council (MBKS) in partnership with JT Utama Sdn Bhd, ARx Media Sdn Bhd and Huawei Cloud, will help the authorities to track movements of people for Covid-19 contact tracing.
By using this app, the location history of a person can be tracked and people can be contacted in the case of an emergency, which will indirectly minimise the risk of exposure amongst the frontliners.
In addition, the data collected will help to identify high-risk areas as well as the number of visitors at certain places.
According to MBKS mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng, the app will provide tremendous help in tracking and contacting people who have been in contact with an identified Covid-19 carrier.
“At the moment, it is very difficult to trace the people who have been in contact with an infected person.
“With this app, it is easier. We will be able to track down how many people had visited the contaminated area as the attendance record would be able to provide the information of those who might came in contact at a certain time,” he told reporters in a press conference after the launching ceremony of the app at MBKS fourth floor meeting room yesterday.
As stated by the developers, the app is currently only available in the form of a web app. Mobile versions will only be available at a later date.
Recognising the limitations in implementing the usage of the app amongst the people, Wee assured that the council was doing its best to cater to the needs of the people.
“We try our best to protect the people. However, it is not easy to force them to utilise the app. Therefore, we will leave it up to them in the hope that they may use the app whenever possible.
“The council will also deploy a team to assist the non-tech savvy or computer illiterate (mainly senior citizens) and help them to register using their ICs and phone numbers,” he said.
It was also learnt that the developers would implement the use of facial recognition technology to record attendance data of the people as they were currently working with Huawei on additional features.
Wee revealed that the first phase of implementation of the app would be executed at Stutong Market this Friday (Apr 11).
“If it runs smoothly, we will expand to other areas. We want to see the response from the people for the time being,” he added.
