Koronavilkku application turns one year – keeping the application active is still important
The Koronavilkku application, designed to cut coronavirus infection chains turned one year on Tuesday 31th August 2021. Finnish people have been using Koronavilkku actively. At its best, the application has had more than two million active users.
The application is constantly under development. The development of the epidemic has been taken into account when drafting, among other things, the instructions given by the application for those exposed. Koronavilkku provides basic instructions on how to proceed if exposed. In addition, the application directs you to a website with additional information if you have already received a complete or partial series of vaccinations.
The importance of Koronavilkku grows as society opens up
Although the epidemic has developed considerably during the lifecycle of the application, it is recommended to continue keeping Koronavilkku enabled. As vaccinations progress at a good pace and society gradually opens up, encounters between strangers also increase in various situations. Koronavilkku helps to identify your own potential exposure in situations where you have encountered strangers. In these situations, those who have been exposed cannot be reached by means of normal contact tracing. The greater the number of people that have Koronavilkku enabled on their phones, the more effective the application is.
The application is particularly beneficial to young people whose vaccine coverage has not yet reached the level of older age groups. Vaccination provides good protection against coronavirus disease but does not completely eliminate the risk of infection or of infecting others. That is why even fully vaccinated persons should not stop using Koronavilkku.
Some hospital districts plan to adopt automatic sending of unlock codes. The unlock code is a single-use code that is sent by text message to the Koronavilkku user who has been diagnosed with a coronavirus infection. When the code is entered into the application, a notification of possible exposure is sent to any application users who were close to the individual during the period when they would probably have been infectious. Automation has already been introduced in Helsinki. Without automation, a healthcare worker is responsible for sending the unlock code.
Automation speeds up the transmission of information on possible exposure. It is important that the persons diagnosed with the infection enter the unlock code they have received in Koronavilkku to warn other users. Reporting is completely anonymous. If the infected person does not receive an unlock code for some reason, they must contact health care services.
The application is always with you in your smartphone
Koronavilkku does not require anything other than a smartphone and some of the device’s memory. The application takes up only about the same amount of space as ten photos. Also, the application does not normally drain the battery. If the user detects a sudden increase in battery drainage, for example, after a system upgrade, they should try restarting the phone or turning the exposure notifications off and on again. The malfunction usually disappears in a few days.
As the epidemic prolongs, Koronavilkku is a part of other protective measures, such as the use of masks, adequate safe distances, and good hand hygiene. Unlike other prevention measures, there is no need to spend time thinking about using the Koronavilkku application. When enabled, the application collects information about possible exposures whenever the user has their phone with them.
Further information:
Aleksi Yrttiaho
Director of Information Services
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
[email protected]
