The Ministry of Health is considering creating a special app for the corona test. The app can be used, among other things, to book a test, but can also contain a kind of certificate to prove that you have been tested negative.
The app has not yet been officially announced, but engineering association KIVI mentioned the plan in a blog post. The ministry confirms that such an app is being considered. The reason is the test capacity, which may soon be much larger, and several types of corona tests. That is where “citizens should be guided in a user-friendly way and in one place”.
All options open
Also striking is the possible ‘test certificate’, with which you can prove that you have recently been tested negative. Until now, the policy has always been not to give citizens a statement that they are not infected. Anyone who wanted such a statement, for example for a trip abroad, must now report to a commercial tester.
Whether the app can also be used to show whether you have been vaccinated against corona, a spokesman for the ministry does not want to indicate. “Your questions are premature, all options are still open.”
Various sectors are considering access for people who have had a vaccination, from the events to the travel industry. It is therefore not yet known whether the app could help with this.
Loan staff
The government is asking companies to lend staff for the development of the app, so that no tendering procedure has to be completed. It would take too much time. The ministry is asking for developers, designers and software testers, among others.
The government would prefer to see companies lend staff free of charge for a period of approximately two months. It is not yet known whether companies have already responded.
Third corona app
The new app would be the government’s third corona app. The first app, CoronaMelder, can already be downloaded by everyone. A second app, which should support the GGD in source and contact research, will be released in the coming months. Positively tested people can then submit their contacts to the GGD via an app.