Best COVID-19 Apps by Government

100s of apps were launched by the Central and State government for providing COVID 19 related information. Based on our study, there is one or another app for the following services related to Covid-19 in every state.

• Increase awareness on the coronavirus pandemic
• Coronavirus tracker
• Obtain curfew passes
• Report large gatherings of people
• Trace the contact history of COVID-19 patients
• Track people under home quarantine
• Test Yourself for Corona
• Get direct feedback from people who have undergone coronavirus treatment
• On-demand delivery of essential goods
• Chatbots
• Help migrants stranded outside the state

How to choose the best app?

There are scores of government apps to choose from as every state government has multiple apps for these purposes. So we have limited our analysis to the app which satisfies the following criteria in Google Playstore. 

• Downloads: 100,000 +
• Rating: 4+
• Reviews:1000+

COVA Punjab: The Super App for Covid-19

The very first question we asked ourselves while ranking the app is whether will we get all the resources to fight Covid-19 from one single app. Is there a Super App for Covid-19 ?. 

Cova Punjab fits the bill. COVA stands for Corona Virus Alert. COVA Punjab app has been developed to provide citizens with preventive care information and other government advisories.

The app has the following main sections for citizens:

• Real-time dashboard for Punjab, India and global stats
• To check for symptoms of Corona and have a quick self-screening
• Corona Awareness
• Curfew Passes
• Doctor Consultation
• Donation to CM Relief Fund
• On-demand delivery of essentials
• FAQ
• Call Support

In addition to it, the COVA app is being planned to use to manage and track the mandi arrivals of the farmers in real-time to check for mass gathering and take corrective action.

COVA Punjab app has been developed by the Digital Punjab team under the Department of Government Reforms and Public Grievances of Government of Punjab. The app is available both on the Google play store and Apple store. Total downloads of the app have crossed 8.5 lakhs till now. Most of the reviews posted on the play store are favorable for the app. However, there were multiple requests to improve the UI and UX features of the app.

Arogya Setu App

The Arogya Setu app is an important tool in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Aarogya Setu is designed to keep users informed in case s/he has crossed paths with someone who has tested positive. The tracking is done through a Bluetooth & location-generated social graph, which can show your interaction with anyone who has tested positive.

Users will be alerted if someone you came in close proximity with, unknowingly, tests positive. The app alerts are accompanied by instructions on how to self-isolate and what to do in case you develop symptoms. 

After installing the app, you have to switch on Bluetooth (you are recommended to keep it on at all times) and Location. Then, set 'location sharing' to 'Always' (you can change this anytime later).

It has a tool for self-testing. The user is asked to answer a number of questions. In case some of the answers suggest COVID symptoms, the information will be sent to a government server. The data will then help the government take timely steps and initiate the isolation procedure, if necessary.

The app was developed by the National Informatics Center that comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The Arogya Setu app has been downloaded by 75 million people and is available in 11 different Indian languages.