Priit Tohver, e-services and innovation adviser at the Ministry of Social Affairs, which co-developed the app, said Monday that: "We can see from anonymous statistics from the app's server that at least two are confirmed [COVID-19] infected." 

Tohver stressed that this does not mean that only two people have received notifications via the app; others using it will have been notified if they had been in close contact with either of the two infected individuals. 

The app went live last Thursday, August 20, and since then has been downloaded 32,420 times via the Google Play Store and a further 16,508 times via Apple's App Store, Tohver said at the time of writing. 

The app, which is free to download, informs close contacts of those infected and instructs them how to proceed, with the aim of curbing the viruses' spread. 

Phones with the app installed register Bluetooth signals from other nearby phones, storing an anonymous code if the signal has been sufficiently close, for a sufficient amount of time. 

The codes are anonymous and individuals and their data cannot be tracked via the app. 

The HOIA app was developed by the social affairs ministry in conjunction with  Health and Welfare Information Systems Center (Tervise ja Heaolu Infosüsteemide Keskus), and several private sector firms. 

See here for more information on the HOIA app. 

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