As we face this time of crisis together, one of the most important things we
can do - aside from
<https://9to5google.com/2020/03/20/google-assistant-wash-hands/> washing
your hands and maintaining
<https://9to5google.com/2020/03/19/google-doodle-social-distancing-idea/>
social distance - is combat misinformation with the truth. To that end, the
World Health Organization is preparing to launch an official iOS and
Android Web app for news, tips, alerts, and more to keep you informed during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new app, currently set to be launched
<https://github.com/WorldHealthOrganization/app/issues/293> under the name
"WHO MyHealth," was originally proposed by a team of volunteer experts that
have formed what they're calling the "WHO Covid App Collective." The team
consists of former Google and Microsoft employees as well as WHO advisors
and ambassadors, along with other industry experts.
According to the
<https://github.com/WorldHealthOrganization/app/blob/master/docs/ROADMAP.md#
v10> current development roadmap, the group plans for the first, early
version of the WHO MyHealth app to launch on both iOS and Android on
Monday, March 30th. However, as the WHO app is being
<https://github.com/WorldHealthOrganization/app> built as open source, we
were able to get hands-on with an early work-in-progress version of the app,
which primarily consists of the same COVID-19 related advice found in the
organization's
<https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/who-health-alert-bring
s-covid-19-facts-to-billions-via-whatsapp> recent WhatsApp chatbot.
Based on
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1isNMLpwI2iUY92KPwJHfY7kQnpN3oCuUl6c94J7
Qmhs/edit#heading=h.2xo5mh25e6ga> the app's original design doc, there are
plans for the WHO MyHealth app to offer alert notifications specific to your
location, as well as the potential for "self-triage" tools that could help
you diagnose whether your symptoms match those of COVID-19.
On an even grander scale,
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1isNMLpwI2iUY92KPwJHfY7kQnpN3oCuUl6c94J7
Qmhs/edit#heading=h.yrtnfcgue6ye> there are ambitions for those who have
been directly affected by COVID-19 to offer the WHO with their iPhone or
Android location history in an effort to perform "
<https://www.who.int/features/qa/contact-tracing/en/> contact tracing," to
better understand the spread of the virus. However, given the obvious
privacy concerns with sharing in-depth location history, it remains to be
seen whether this feature will actually launch.
Leveraging existing technology like Google Maps, allows users to indicate
whether they have been diagnosed or have come into contact with COVID-19
patients. In addition, request permission to track historic location data on
their device.
Another interesting aspect of this story is that the WHO Covid App
Collective initially built the app with Ionic React before
<https://github.com/WorldHealthOrganization/app/issues/193> switching to
Google's cross-platform Flutter SDK, not only for the mobile apps but
<https://github.com/WorldHealthOrganization/app/commit/f9ed04f3dffe866e81443
1e97f654bc290cf8e2f> also the web app. In fact, some individual members of
Google's Flutter and Dart teams have been voluntarily assisting and advising
in the WHO app's development.
That said, if you're an experienced Flutter developer looking to make a
positive impact on the world, you should also consider
<https://github.com/WorldHealthOrganization/app/blob/master/docs/ONBOARDING.
md> lending your own efforts to the team of volunteers that are actively
building the official WHO MyHealth app.
By <https://9to5google.com/author/skylled/> Kyle Bradshaw
