India makes government tracing app mandatory for all workers

iStock [illustration]

India has made it mandatory for all workers to use a government-backed Bluetooth tracing app in its fight against COVID-19.

The app - called Aarogya Setu - will alert users who may have come in contact with people later found to be positive for COVID-19 or deemed to be at high risk.

India's Ministry of Home Affairs, in a statement, added that all public and private companies must ensure "100% coverage of the app among the employees".

The decision, however, has raised concerns over privacy among the public.

This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday extended its nationwide control measures for another two weeks, with "considerable relaxations" in lower-risk districts.

So far, the country has reported over 37,000 cases and 1,218 deaths from the virus.

More from International News

  • Thousands of Australians without power as cyclone Alfred hits

    Hundreds of thousands of people in Australia's Queensland state were without power on Sunday after Alfred, a downgraded tropical cyclone, brought damaging winds and heavy rains, sparking flood warnings.

  • Israeli airstrike kills two in southern Gaza

    An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, medical sources said, as mediators pushed ahead with talks to extend a shaky 42-day ceasefire agreed in January between Israel and Hamas.

  • 12 people injured in Toronto pub shooting

    Toronto Police said early on Saturday they were searching for three male suspects in a shooting that injured at least 12 people at a pub in the Canadian city.

  • Cyclone Alfred downgraded as millions stay indoors

    Ex-tropical cyclone Alfred lingered off the south-east Australian coast on Saturday and forecasters said Brisbane is likely to miss the worst of the storm, a relief for millions of residents in the region who have been staying indoors.