It is now possible to link the result of a Covid-19 screening test directly to the Coronalert application, without the intervention of the doctor, the designers of the Belgian contact tracing application announced Thursday.
Previously, people wishing to be tested had to make an appointment with their GP and, if they used Coronalert, provide them with a 17-digit code generated by the application.
The practitioner would then enter this code into the patient's file to link it to the requested test, allowing Coronalert users to receive their test results directly from the application.
If the test proves positive, the infected person notifies the other users anonymously to break the chain of transmission of the virus.
However, "under certain circumstances,” the collection and then transmission of the code by the doctor "was not possible and some tests were therefore not linked to the application,” explained Karine Moykens, president of the Interfederal Testing and Tracing Committee.
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To prevent certain results from falling through, users will now receive an SMS, which will then allow them to "link the 17-digit code of the application to your test activation code via a form,” Moykens added.
In addition, with the return of asymptomatic screening as of 23 November, high-risk contacts will receive an activation code by SMS to make an appointment for a PCR test directly via this website, instead of through the general practitioner.
"And if you use the Coronalert application, you will be able to enter the 17-digit application code when booking", adds the president of the Interfederal Committee.
Launched on 30 September, Coronalert currently has two million users, or around 28% of smartphone users.
More than 80,000 people have already received their results in the application, of whom around 48% of those who tested positive for the virus have agreed to share their data to inform other users, according to the tool's designers.
The Brussels Times
