Coronavirus lockdown in India has been extended until May 31, popularly called Lockdown 4.0. For this, new guidelines have been laid with some on the popular Aarogya Setu app. As part of the new guidelines, the Aarogya Setu COVID-19 contact tracing app is no longer mandatory for people in offices. Read on to know more.
Aarogya Setu not compulsory in offices
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently issued new guidelines and suggested that it isn't compulsory for people in offices to download the Aarogya Setu app. The guideline read, "With a view to ensuring safety in offices and workplaces, employers on best effort basis should ensure that Aarogya Setu is installed by all employees having compatible mobile phones."
Additionally, people can download the app as advised by district authorities but there won't be any compulsion in this case too. It is stated, "District authorities may advise individuals to install the Aarogya Setu application on compatible mobile phones and regularly update their health status on the app. This will facilitate timely provision of medical attention to those individuals who are at risk."
The new guidelines have been toned down from the previous ones that made it mandatory for people to download the app. However, there is no word on whether or not the app is mandatory for people in containment zones. Additionally, Aarogya Setu app still needs to be downloaded by people who are travelling via air or train.
For those who don't know, the mandatory nature of Aarogya Setu raised many concerns as users didn't want the app to record their location. This reportedly led a Bengaluru techie to hack the Aarogya Setu app so that he doesn't have to share his data with the app.
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