[ti:Fewer Europeans Using Coronavirus Tracing Apps than Expected] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Smartphone apps designed to slow spread of the coronavirus [00:05.72]have experienced low usage rates in Europe, [00:10.16]where virus cases are again rising in several countries. [00:17.44]The tracing systems are designed to let people know [00:22.32]if they were near someone who was later confirmed to have the virus. [00:28.84]Some nations moved quickly to develop such apps. [00:34.36]The apps are considered an important tool in helping defeat the coronavirus. [00:42.84]One reason the new coronavirus spreads easily [00:47.52]is because many infected individuals show few or no signs of sickness. [00:55.76]If a person learns they had been near someone who got infected, [01:00.76]they could immediately isolate or seek treatment. [01:06.84]But few people in Europe have used the apps. [01:11.88]Some countries there have discontinued them. [01:16.44]Other nations have said low usage rates make the technology ineffective. [01:24.28]On the high end, about one-third of the population [01:28.96]uses the apps in Finland and Ireland. [01:33.96]In Germany, about 22 percent of people use them. [01:39.12]But in France, the usage rate is just 4 percent. [01:45.56]In the beginning, health officials targeted about 60 percent of the population. [01:53.64]That goal was based on an Oxford University study published in April. [02:01.28]Research models in the study predicted the virus spread could be stopped [02:07.56]if at least 60 percent of populations used the contact tracing apps. [02:16.52]The study suggested that even with lower usage levels, [02:21.56]the number of coronavirus cases and deaths could be reduced. [02:28.88]Most European tracing apps are based on smartphone technology [02:34.68]developed by Google and Apple. [02:39.44]The apps use Bluetooth wireless technology [02:43.44]to permit devices that are near each other to exchange information. [02:50.40]The technology creates a record of the Bluetooth signals. [02:56.48]Device users who have become infected can share that information [03:02.00]to warn others about the possibility of infection. [03:07.72]Smaller countries in Northern Europe have been most successful [03:13.20]at getting people to voluntarily use the apps. [03:19.16]People living in those countries generally have higher levels of trust in the government. [03:27.28]Those countries are also likely to have more people willing to accept new technologies. [03:36.00]Finland's app quickly became one of Europe's most popular [03:40.60]when it launched at the start of September. [03:44.76]It received about 1 million downloads within the first 24 hours. [03:51.60]Currently, about one-third of the country's 5.5 million people have the app. [04:00.24]Some Finnish users said they thought that getting the app [04:05.16]was an important civic responsibility. [04:09.76]"It's our duty to take care of the health of our fellow citizens and those close to us," [04:17.04]said William Oesch, a 44-year-old photographer in Helsinki. [04:24.52]France's app uses a centralized data storage system. [04:30.80]Privacy activists have criticized that method. [04:35.92]The app has a usage rate of just 4 percent. [04:41.08]Officials in Norway were forced to halt that country's app [04:45.88]because of privacy concerns over its use of phone location data. [04:53.40]German officials admit that the country's tracing app [04:57.76]has experienced technical issues and some users had difficulties using it. [05:05.60]But they note that the system has also seen success. [05:11.32]Health Minister Jens Spahn said the app was used [05:16.24]to send 1.2 million coronavirus test results [05:21.36]from laboratories to users during its first 100 days. [05:28.24]"The faster transmission of test results makes a huge difference," Spahn said. [05:36.64]He noted that the tracing of possible contacts is more effective the sooner it begins. [05:44.52]Almost 5,000 people with positive test results [05:49.72]had used the app to warn others they had been near, Spahn added. [05:56.88]Officials say they plan to improve the warning message the app sends to users. [06:05.48]The aim is to provide clearer guidance on what those users should do next. [06:13.12]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM