TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Communication and Informatics Ministry (Kominfo) on launched a mobile app designed to track the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) for the past 14-days. The app, which is launched on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, is said to be available both in Appstore and Android users.

"The government has launched the Pedulilindungi [care and protect] under Kominfo Ministry's Decree No.171 of 2020 concerning The Establishment of Pedulilindungi Application in the Event of Health Surveillance and Covid-19 Prevention," said Kominfo Minister Johnny G. Plate in a written release.

Johnny said that the app has been officially declared by the government as one of the tools to break the chain of coronavirus transmissions, and claimed to be able to provide visual data. Kominfo claimed that the newly released app has already been installed by 450,000 users across Indonesia.

Pedulilindungi works by constantly notifying its users about the status of their current location. The data proximity recorded by the app is able to determine whether a user is located in an area classified as a safe zone or a red zone.

The app will alert its user to commence the official government health protocol once they enter areas considered as Covid-19 red zones based on the user's data collected via Bluetooth and GPS location. Pedulilindungi is also able to monitor the arrival of international tourists.

Call centers for anything related to the coronavirus are 112; 117; and 119.

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA