Japan's COVID-19 contact tracing app for Android not working for 4 months: ministry

TOKYO -- The Japanese government's coronavirus contact tracing app for smartphones, COCOA, has not been sending information on contact with infected people to users with the Android operating system version since Sept. 28 last year, the health ministry announced on Feb. 3.

Android users make up about 30% of COCOA downloads. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said it expects the problem to be solved by mid-February.

When an app user who has tested positive for the coronavirus registers their infection information, other users who have come into contact with them within a distance of 1 meter or closer for at least 15 minutes in the past 14 days will get a notification.

According to the ministry, notifications became unavailable on Android phones after the app was updated on Sept. 28.

(Mainichi)