The RKI released the Corona-Datenspende (Corona Data Donation) smartwatch app on April 7. It collects activity and heart rate data, along with postal codes, and analyze the information for potential COVID-19 symptoms. It also allowed to identify changes in the mobility of citizens. 

Citizen Science Projects in Germany for Contact Tracing

The government originally planned on creating a more centralized contact tracing app, but it faced a pushback due to privacy concerns. Germany adopted a decentralized, anonymous approach instead by asking individuals to report their positive test status via the app, and Bluetooth connections between phones trigger alerts to people who had come into contact with someone who tested positive

Government Science Projects in Germany for Contact Tracing

Due to the fact that all of the science projects for contact tracing are voluntary in Germany, its effectiveness will depend on how many people download it and whether infected patients report their positive test status. These science projects are split into two areas:
- Citizen
- Government


Smith College

Careful examination through a combination of epidemiological methods such as interviews and whole-genome sequencing had allowed the health authorities and scientists to break the first outbreak in Bavaria at the end of January. Even when the number of cases grew exponentially in Germany, tremendous efforts were still conducted to contact tracing for every single case, despite a lack of staff. Voluntary science projects were also launched to complement the government’s efforts.

Contact Tracing in Germany

Our World in Data. 2020. Emerging COVID-19 Success Story: Germany’S Strong Enabling Environment. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-exemplar-germany    
   Accessed 14 July 2020.

Emerging COVID-19 success story: Germany’s strong enabling environment

Voluntary Science Projects in Germany for Contact Tracing

Many of the human resources at local public health facilities were understaffed during the pandemic. In response, the German Federal Ministry of Health and RKI hired and trained “containment scouts,” who were taught the fundamental importance of contact tracing and need to maintain staff levels to keep caseloads low 

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