France’s Minister for Digital Affairs announces StopCOVID mobile contact tracing app will launch in June.

France’s Minister for Digital Affairs announces StopCOVID mobile contact tracing app will launch in June

FRENCH Secretary of State for the Digital Economy, Cedric O has announced that France is set to begin using its state-supported ‘StopCOVID’ contact-tracing app by June 2.

He also pointed out that “Apple could have helped us make the application work even better on the iPhone. They have not wished to do so,” he said.

“I regret this, given that we are in a period where everyone is mobilised to fight against the epidemic, and given that a large company that is doing so well economically is not helping out a government in this crisis.”

The contact-tracing app should enter its testing phase in the week of May 11 when the country starts to ease its lockdown, the minister said earlier this month.

Countries are rushing to develop apps which, along with a wider testing and tracking programme, are seen as key to easing the social distancing rules that have all but shut global economies.

However, citizens and lawmakers in France have aired worries that such apps could raise privacy issues. Britain are ready to start testing its own Covid-19 tracing app on the Isle of Wight from Tuesday.