Dutch coronavirus app now connects to apps from 7 other EU nations

From today, the Netherlands' coronavirus notification app CoronaMelder also connects with apps from seven other European Union countries. This means that Dutch app users will also get a notification if they were in close contact with an app user from one of these other countries who tested positive for the coronavirus.

CoronaMelder now also connects to the coroanvirus apps of Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, and Spain. They use the same Bluetooth method to keep track of close contacts via anonymous codes. If an app user reports that they tested positive on the app, it will send a notification to all other app users who spent more than 15 minutes at less than 1.5 meters from the person, to warn them that they too may be infected.

The government expects that CoronaMelder will also connect with the Belgian app later in December. "At a later time, corona apps from other EU countries will also join this European collaboration," the government said on Wednesday.

Netherlands residents who get a notification through the app that they had contact with a Covid-19 patient, can now also get tested for the coronavirus, whether or not they have symptoms. They can book a Covid-19 test five days after their contact with the patient, and have to quarantine at home for those five days.