Okaz/Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — The number of users of Tawakkalna application has exceeded 23 million. The application, which boasts of more than 25 strategic partners, offers more than 100 services and it has been made available in over 75 countries around the world.

New statistics showed a huge increase in the number of Tawakkalna users, spanning through three phases, in which the application witnessed massive growth in the services provided by it thanks to the efforts of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) in its bid to support the mammoth government efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Tawakkalna is the official Saudi Contact Tracing app. approved by the Ministry of Health to prevent the spread of coronavirus. It is also being used to verify or provide proof of an individual’s vaccination status as well as to show current status of infection or history of infection.

The application had begun its first phase by an order of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to preserve the health and safety of citizens and residents in the Kingdom from the danger of the spread of COVID-19 during the curfew period imposed following the outbreak of the pandemic.

The goal of the first phase was to contribute to managing the process of issuing movement permits electronically during the curfew period, continuing the work of government and private agencies, and identifying health cases easily by setting a color for each type of case to facilitate the visual sorting process. The requests for movement permit exceeded about 27 million requests during that time.

The theme of the second phase of the application, which came after the curfew, was “Containing the pandemic and returning to normal life safely” to support digital transformation in Saudi Arabia, and to facilitate citizens and residents to contain the pandemic and to return with caution to ensure the safety of society.

Its role was to achieve the safe return of all members of the society and to provide many digital features and services to contain the pandemic.

The most prominent services in that phase were booking the appointment for coronavirus testing; the vaccine appointment booking service; gathering management services to ensure the safety of the community; services to ensure the safe proceeding of the educational process, in addition to health passport services; Hajj and Umrah services; digital wallet services and dashboard services.

While the figures for the second phase of the application included more than 30 million coronavirus examinations and vaccine reservations, it also had more than 20 million permits for the holy sites. The permits to enter gatherings exceeded 60 million permits, apart from more than 19 million health passports, and over 60 million documents in the wallet.

The third phase, with the theme of “Towards a promising technological advancement” featured various services to facilitate the lives of citizens, residents and visitors, in which the application witnessed a global expansion, and it was after life returned to normal.

The third phase also witnessed building strategic partnerships, providing value-added services, and the app’s expansion around the world.