UCC develops Covid tracker app to protect students and staff

University College Cork (UCC) has developed a Covid-19 Tracker and Day Pass App to help protect its students, staff, and the wider community.

Upon checking Covid-19 symptoms, the app generates a pass for on-campus attendance.

Although the use of the app is not compulsory, staff and students are strongly encouraged to download and use the app ahead of planned visits to campus.

The app was initially developed by Dr Michael Byrne, Head of UCC Student Health, in conjunction with UCC’s IT Services, to enable healthcare students to safely attend their clinical work placements.

The students used the app daily to provide feedback on their symptoms or lack of symptoms, with UCC Student Health monitoring the data and reacting appropriately as and where necessary.

The feedback from this cohort of students and their placement settings was overwhelmingly positive, prompting the decision to now roll this app out to all UCC staff and students, in keeping with the HSE’s health and safety guidelines.

UCC is the only university in the country to have an app of this kind, which Dr Byrne described as “another layer to help protect our students, staff, and community during these anxious times”.

App users are asked to complete a daily self-check of symptoms on the app, to generate a pass for on-site attendance.

Where no Covid-19 symptoms are present, the app will generate a green pass indicating that it is safe for you to attend campus.

Where Covid-19 symptoms are present, the app will generate a red pass advising against attending the campus.

The app is available for desktop and both android and mobile devices.