Covid-19: Norway launches virus tracker app

The National Institute of Public Health's new app Smittestopp (Infection Stop) for infection tracking is pictured, in Oslo, Norway. The app is intended to help authorities with infection detection, but can also be used to alert the user that he or she has been close to someone infected with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). — NTB Scanpix/Heiko Junge/Reuters

OSLO: Norway, one of the first European countries to begin lifting confinement measures, is launching a smartphone tracking and tracing app to try to halt a return of the deadly coronavirus.

The "Smittestop" or "stop infection" app has been developed in the Nordic country to provide health authorities a better picture of the spread of Covid-19 and tell users if they have been in contact with the disease.