The updated HOIA app is now able to detect almost twice as many close contacts as it previously was able to manage. The app was previously capable of finding 35% of all active contacts while, after the update, it is now able to find 66% of all close contacts.
According to Kerstin-Gertrud Kärblane, specialist at the Health Board’s department of Communicable Diseases, the app uses Bluetooth Low Energy radio signals for mapping purposes, measuring the strength and duration of the signal between two phones. ‘The first phase of HOIA’s development was based around the measuring procedures which had been conducted in Switzerland in 2020. This year, extensive tests were carried out in the United States and UK, and signal strengths were calculated which enable the more efficient registration of close contacts than was previously the case. Taking into consideration the intensive spread of the infection in Estonia, it is important to find as many close contacts as possible,’ she said.
‘HOIA creates significant added value for the work which is being done by the Health Board, as it can find those contacts whom the infected individual may not know or remember,’ Kärblane added. The purpose of the app is to notify close contacts of those individuals who have been infected with coronavirus, and to provide them with the first guidelines for what they should be doing next. ‘By using the app, anyone can contribute to lowering the number of cases in Estonia. HOIA is one of several tools in our collection when it comes to preventing the spread of the virus,’ she concluded.
In cooperation with researchers at Apple, Google, and the Swiss EPFL University who are developing the areas of technology upon which HOIA is based, we have explored and enabled fresh settings which will be brought into use this week.
HOIA app version 1.3.6 is the new version which comes equipped with the latest Bluetooth parameters.
