Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The number of users of Tawakkalna application, approved by the Ministry of Health to prevent the spread of coronavirus, has crossed seven million. Three more distinctive features have been added to the app, developed by the National Information Center, to help alert the users about the presence of contacts or people with coronavirus around them.

The record increase in the number of users was achieved within a short span of time since the application was launched four months ago. This shows the enhanced confidence of users in its service, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

The app provides instant and live information about the number of coronavirus infections in the Kingdom, and helps in the early detection of possible infections once users show coronavirus symptoms.

The application added three new features aimed at supporting government efforts to curb the infection of coronavirus and to contribute to a safe return to normal life. The new services are alert status service; safe gathering management feature, and dependent care.

The alert service notifies the users when they are close to infectious or isolation areas. It enables the user to know the health status of those in crowded places, when activated using Bluetooth technology, which in turn will alert him if there is a person infected with the coronavirus or close contacts, while ensuring privacy for the infected and the contact person.

The safe gathering management feature enables users to achieve the highest levels of safety and security during their gatherings, whether personal or governmental or commercial gatherings, by issuing a permit and obtaining a QR (quick response) code so that visitors can scan it when they enter the event venue, after ensuring the safety and health of other visitors.

The dependent care service enables parents to follow up on their children who are under 15 years of age and check on them in the locations they visit. This helps the parents to send a care request to the dependent’s account in the application. After approval, the guardian can review the location, information, and movement of the dependent.

The application enhanced its presence among non-Arabic speaking users, through five new languages, in addition to Arabic and English. They are Hindi, Filipino, Urdu, Bengali, and Indonesian.