A national platform has been launched to monitor home-quarantined people, as part of efforts to combat the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19), the GDN newsroom reported today.

The ‘BeAware’ smartphone application will provide users with Covid-19 updates within Bahrain, spread awareness of the location of active cases and maintain accurate figures from contact tracing data provided by the Health Ministry.

The application will also identify contact tracing cases and alert individuals in the event they approach an active case or a location where an active case has visited or passed by.

The Information and e-Government Authority (iGA) launched the application in co-operation with the Supreme Council for Health and the Health Ministry.

The initiative is in line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin

Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, to support national efforts and contain the virus.

“The application aims to protect society which showed its awareness and responded positively to all precautionary measures and preventive protocols,” said iGA chief executive Mohammed Al Qaid.

Information provided by the application will be confidential and protected to ensure the privacy of citizens and residents.

Mr Al Qaid called upon everyone to contribute to the national campaign to combat Covid-19, by downloading the application on iOS and Android through the e-government app store apps.bahrain.bh.

“The application has the ability to follow up on suspected cases subjected to the 14-day mandatory quarantine,” he said.

The free application has already been provided to hundreds of volunteers and quarantined cases to test its efficiency.

It will be available to the public within two days, featuring facts about Covid-19, latest local and global updates and preventive tips, in addition to alerts.