Majority of Dutch willing to use safe coronavirus tracking app: study
More than half of Netherlands residents are willing to install a coronavirus tracking app on their phone, provided that the app meets all privacy and security requirements, according to a study by Erasmus University in Rotterdam among a representative group of 900 Dutch people, AD reports.
Teenagers and young adults in particular are willing to install an app that will alert them if they were near a coronavirus patient, according to the researchers. There is also a group of Dutch who don't really want to use such an app, but may consider it under certain conditions - for example if it means they can gather in larger groups again, such as for a party.
The government thinks that about 60 percent of the Dutch population would need to install and use the app for it to be successful. Based on this study, the researchers think that this ratio is feasible, according to the newspaper.
An app that can alert people if they were in contact with someone diagnosed with the coronavirus, that also meets the security and privacy requirements, does not yet exist. Earlier this month, the government held an "appathon" with seven promising apps, but none of them met the requirements. Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health later announced that his Ministry would develop its own app.
