The Ministry of Health has released the new version of the "Shield" application, which allows you to check if you have come in contact with a Corona patient • The technology they developed, inspired by Google and Apple, is based on Bluetooth connectivity and knows how to make devices inside a building.

• Photo: Yinon Ben-Shoshan

The Ministry of Health launched tonight (Monday) the new version of "The Shield" - "The Shield 2" - the national application for preventing the spread of Corona virus. The new version added the ability to track authenticated patients using Bluetooth-based technology - identical to the virus-tracking system they developed at Google and Apple.

Unlike the standard tracking method that tracks users' physical location via GPS, the app is based on Bluetooth connectivity and will record close-up smartphones of other users in the area at pre-set periods of time. Once a patient is found positive for Corona and adds the information to the app, the data will be synchronized - and everyone who was in contact with him within 14 days will receive an alert.

The app will be able to identify if you were near a verified patient up to 10 meters away and more than 15 minutes, even inside a building or by public transport. According to the Ministry of Health, "These alerts provide more accurate information and provide a better quality response to exposure."

As early as May, Apple allowed dark-skinned governments and healthcare organizations around the world to use their technology, and develop an app that knows how to communicate between devices via Bluetooth. Unlike other countries, Israel has chosen not to use the infrastructure (API) of the technology giant and develop it independently.

To date, about 1.7 million Israelis have downloaded the app, and since its launch, quite a few users have complained that they have received false alerts. The reason for this is in GPS technology, which, as is well known, is not very accurate. Now, the goal in the new version is to improve the accuracy of individual meters - something that can be solved with the use of Bluetooth.

The app is available for download for Android devices from here , and for iPhone devices from here .