Easy and quick help in the COVID-19 pandemic

The CovApp was developed to provide quick guidance on actions to take through a simple online test.

The range of possible symptoms of coronavirus infection is wide. Many symptoms are similar to those of other respiratory infections, such as seasonal flu. However, dry cough and fever are the most common.

In order to provide people with guidance to better assess their symptoms and derive necessary actions, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin developed the CovApp in collaboration with Data4Life. The joint initiative was supported by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) and the German Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA). Data4Life was significantly involved in the project until June 2021.

CovApp details

By querying clinically significant symptoms and previous illnesses online, a simple and quick orientation was possible for everyone. If a person then wanted to visit a contact point, all the medically relevant information was already available in the form of the test result. At the same time, this improved the use of capacities in hospitals and contact points so that they were available to people who urgently needed them.

The online test asked about typical symptoms of respiratory diseases, possible contacts with sick people, as well as known risk factors, such as chronic diseases or smoking, in connection with the infection. As a result, users were told in clear and understandable language whether they were suspected of having corona and should visit an examination center. The online test took about 3 minutes.

As accessible as possible for everyone

We supported the international community in the fight against COVID-19 by offering the CovApp in different languages. Each translation of the app included regional information for contacting healthcare providers and local authorities. This allowed people around the world to access the CovApp and receive decision support for actions to take during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, we made CovApp available as open source software and enabled physicians to integrate the app into their practice by using a CovApp widget to help as many patients as possible.