“With the numbers of the epidemic getting carried away, I told myself that we had to participate in our own way!
Like Myriam, many French people have downloaded the TousAntiCovid "tracing" application since its launch on October 22.
Farewell to its predecessor StopCovid, available from June 2 but who had convinced only 2.8 million French people in four and a half months.
Now, more than 7 million have downloaded the application (7,202,354 precisely this Tuesday noon), including more than 4 million during the ten days of service of the new version.
Several French people told us why they had decided to "take the plunge".
“For a long time, we really felt less concerned by the virus that we saw very little,” explains first Sylvain Challet, Sports Assistant at the town hall of the small town of Aizenay (Vendée).
It must be said that StopCovid was - belatedly - launched on the day of the start of phase 2 of deconfinement, when the curves of hospitalized patients and in intensive care were in full descending phase.
PODCAST. StopCovid: why the coronavirus tracking app is coming so late
"We had the impression of being in a form of calm and that this application was not essential if we wore the mask in closed places, that we washed our hands, and that we respected the barrier gestures ”, adds Mathieu Zagrodzki, known in the media for his functions as associate researcher at the Center for Sociological Research on Law and Penal Institutions.
"You can fill in the certificate directly"
At the beginning of the summer, faced with this lack of enthusiasm on the part of the population, the Secretary of State for digital Cédric O and his teams praised a tool that could be useful in the event of a "second wave" of Covid-19 epidemic.
The future seems to have proved them right three months later.
The curves are packed, those of the indicators of the epidemic like that of the downloads of TousAntiCovid.
"Suddenly, I said to myself that it might be time to install it, especially since I travel a lot in public transport", testifies Denis, 28-year-old animator from Lille. .
All also praise a tool that is smoother, more pleasant to use, and more complete.
It now contains the “key figures” for monitoring the epidemic and the application's statistics.
Another much more practical element convinced many to download the application: the possibility of filling in the derogatory certificate of travel during curfew and now during confinement.
Since Tuesday, we can even complete the form without being redirected to the government site.
“Two things motivated me to download it: you could fill out the certificate directly, and my employer pushed me to do so,” admits Leonie, 27, who works in human resources in Île-de-France. France.
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"TousAntiCovid is much more practical and general public than the old version, with in addition the possibility of downloading the certificate", also boasts Florence Arnoux, regional delegate of the Hospital Federation of France in the Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur region.
Having downloaded StopCovid "in principle" as soon as it was released, she very quickly uninstalled it because she "did not find the application very operational".
"I hit a wall"
However, there is still a long way to go for the application to prove its full effectiveness.
None of our six witnesses were reported in contact, often to their surprise.
However, this is not surprising in view of the figures: only 4,761 people received a notification informing them that they were in contact, while 31,353 users declared themselves positive using a QR Code.
“It's nothing at all!
People have even told me that they have not received their code, ”says Mariam, a biologist in Val-de-Marne.
For the application to work, you must not only download it but also activate it as well as Bluetooth.
What many don't do all the time, out of forgetfulness or fear that it will consume a lot of battery.
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The goal of 15 million downloads within a month, set by Cédric O, ultimately remains very distant.
The curve seems to be settling and the older ones, therefore those most at risk, would be less receptive.
“Both of my parents have a smartphone but they don't use it at all the same as us and they haven't downloaded the app,” says Léonie.
“A week ago, I told my 70-year-old parents who have a smartphone.
I hit a wall, ”adds Mathieu Zagrodzki.
VIDEO. #TousAntiCOvid: "We must be several million to download the application"
As for Sylvain Challet, our elected Vendée, he confides being "more busy helping sports clubs" to face the crisis and confinement than "saying to download TousAntiCovid".
