- Free Version: Available for teams of up to 10
- Pricing: Premium plan $24/month (with free 30-day trial period)
- Platforms supported: Available on mobile app (iOS and Android) or a web-based software
Why use SafetyCulture?
SafetyCulture is a digital tool that will help your business streamline employee and visitor health screening, standardize disinfection and cleaning procedures, and solve logistics challenges of infection control by doing away with paper records and saving your data in the cloud. You can do all this and more using a single mobile app.
As the winner of Best SaaS Product for Health & Safety in 2020, SafetyCulture allows you to create a customized COVID-19 checklist template, or any other kind of template, with multiple response types to fit every business need, including media files, annotations, number values and ranges, date & time, and digital signature—all for free. Alternatively, you can get and modify a template from the Public Library, or convert any of your existing paper forms into a digital template through smart scan
SafetyCulture also allows for better collaboration and reporting of COVID-19 issues. Through this COVID-19 response app, you can choose to be notified or to notify others when a member of your organization answers a specific question in a template. This is especially important when it comes to infection control, which requires rapid response and action on your part as an employer/business owner. With real-time in-app, SMS, and email notifications, it will be easy for you and your employees to stay updated on the COVID-19 concerns within your organization.
Features:
- Enforce and follow government guidelines on social distancing and other preventive measures
- Create and use QR codes for faster accessing of contact tracing forms and for reporting
- Use cleaning, disinfection, and hygiene checklists to reinforce handwashing and sanitation procedures across locations
- Attach photos, videos, and notes to show proof of compliance with government regulations or other issues
- Report problems by raising Issues, assigning specific Actions to team members, or providing a Heads Up to your whole team
- Conduct digital contact tracing and health monitoring on a mobile app, even when offline
- Notify employees if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 at work while maintaining the confidentiality of those infected or experiencing symptoms
- Turn your COVID-19 data into actionable insights with analytics
- Export completed COVID-19 forms as PDF or Word files for submission to local government units for proof of compliance or reporting of cases
Why use CovidSafe?
COVIDSafe is the dedicated COVID-19 response app and tracking app for Australia. People who test positive are assisted by health officials to log their information into the app, which will then be used for contact tracing. By keeping your device’s Bluetooth enabled, the COVIDSafe app can track close contacts with someone who has tested positive.
Features:
- Ability to create an account with your chosen name
- Dedicated storage space for COVID-19-related data named the National COVIDSafe Data Storage
- Option to request your data to be removed
- Free Version: Available
- Pricing: Free
- Platforms supported: Details unavailable
Why use ServiceNow?
ServiceNow is an Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) provider that can also be used to help manage COVID-19 processes in the workplace. As a COVID-19 response app, ServiceNow can be used to help with COVID-19 reporting, COVID-19 risk inspection, and more.
Features:
- Wide array of COVID-19 resources available in-app
- Multiple partners available for collaboration and contact for help in managing COVID-19 in the workplace
- Built-in emergency report forms for self-reporting, an outbreak, and the like
- Free Version: Not available
- Pricing: Dependent on the organization’s needs
- Platforms supported: Web, iOS, and Android
Why use TousAntiCovid?
In France, the government’s COVID-19 Response App is called TousAntiCovid. This app uses Bluetooth technology to notify you if you just passed by or interacted with someone infected with COVID-19 for at least five minutes within a two-meter radius distance. After, the app will prompt you with a health pathway proposal for your consideration.
Features:
- Store documents related to COVID-19 such as your proof of vaccination, negative test result, or recovery certificate in the app for easy access on the go
- Read news on the COVID-19 pandemic in the app itself
- Generate COVID-19-related certificates in the app whenever necessary and delete them when no longer needed
- Free Version: Available
- Pricing: Free
- Platforms supported: iOS & Android
Why use DHIS2?
DHIS2 is a global open-source health information management system and COVID-19 response app created for managing health data around the world. Using DHIS2, you can manage COVID-19 risks and cases with the help of data from all over the world in real-time through surveillance, vaccine trackers and counters, and health data toolkits for better information dissemination.
Features:
- Useable for accelerating COVID-19 vaccination plans
- Each country can create its own version of this COVID-19 response app tailored to their needs
- Also works as an educational tool for COVID-19
- Free Version: Available
- Pricing: Free
- Platforms supported: Web, iOS, and Android
Why use Corona-Warn-App?
Corona-Warn-App is Germany’s COVID-19 Response App. Much like other country-specific contact tracing apps, this one is also reliant on Bluetooth. Users are encouraged to open the Corona-Warn-App at least once a day to get updates on who is positive around them regularly.
Features:
- Claim COVID-19 test results through the app via a QR code
- Upload positive COVID-19 test results through the app to alert others around you who might have been in contact with you
- Create your own QR code for businesses or events to easily track attendees and their health statuses
- Free Version: Available
- Pricing: Free
- Platforms supported: iOS and Android
Why use MyCOVIDRisk?
The MyCOVIDRisk COVID-19 response app aims to help users analyze themselves and their potential for having COVID-19. This app prompts you to list your location, your intent for going out, and the number of people you expect to interact with to help calculate your risk for contracting the virus.
Features:
- Complete map and list of locations in the US
- Long list of activities that people commonly do when going outside the house
- Visual representation of possible risk
- Free Version: Available
- Pricing: Free
- Platforms supported: Web
Why use NHS Covid-19?
In England and Wales, the dedicated COVID-19 response app by the government is the NHS Covid-19 app. In addition to an alert system that lets you know if you’ve been exposed to a COVID-19-positive individual, the app also comes with a symptom tracker and information on COVID-19.
Features:
- COVID-19 information is updated regularly depending on the location
- In-app risk classification system based on government regulations
- Alerts and notifications will still come in even when offline and will show once a stable internet connection is regained
- Free Version: Available
- Pricing: Free
- Platforms supported: iOS and Android
Why use The Coronavirus App?
The Coronavirus App is a COVID-19 response app that shows the cases of COVID-19 from all around the world in real time. This app gives you a map of the world that you can interact with to see a country’s COVID-19 statistics as they are logged, such as the current number of active cases, deaths, and recoveries.
Features:
- No need to sign up unless you want to view vaccination data
- Visual graphs available for all countries to analyze their COVID-19 trends
- Built-in comparison feature to compare the statuses of three different countries at a time
- Free Version: Available
- Pricing: Free, but there is an option to donate a minimum of $3 a month.
- Platforms supported: Web
What is a COVID-19 Response App?
A COVID-19 response app is a digital tool that assists both individuals and organizations in addressing COVID-19-related health and safety concerns. It can be used for contact tracing, case investigation, and risk assessment. As a precautionary measure against COVID-19, businesses should encourage staff to use a COVID-19 response app to help identify potential risks.
Importance of a COVID-19 Response App for Businesses
While it is incredibly difficult to manage a business during a pandemic, business owners should keep in mind that, despite numerous uncontrollable factors, there are still ways for them to better position themselves in the handling of this current crisis. One such way is implementing the use of a COVID-19 response app, as using one can help with the following tasks:
Business Reopening
Having a COVID-19 response app with several state-specific (USA) pages on business reopening as well as several COVID-19 checklists and templates can be a great help. Unlike other COVID-19 response apps that are solely focused on infection control measures, a flexible response app that can also take into account plans for business continuity and returning to work profitably safely is more helpful in the long run.
Employee Protection
Aside from helping lower employee exposure to COVID-19 through mobile contact tracing forms and digital COVID-19 screening checklists, having a COVID-19 response app also aids companies in managing and ensuring workplace safety. With allocated pages for the specific workplace hazards of each industry and accompanying guides on the relevant safety regulations, having a response app can help prioritize the protection of employees from any and all types of harm.
Operations Management
A multipurpose COVID-19 response app will also be beneficial in the long run. If your business has already taken the necessary steps to prepare for business reopening and reduce the chances of a COVID-19 outbreak occurring in your workplace, you can continue using your existing response app as a digital operations platform. Through collaborative actions and proactive issue capturing, your app should empower both you and your employees to work together more efficiently.
COVID-19 Data Security
Although there is an increased emphasis on using digital tools, not only for COVID-19 but also for day-to-day operations, there have also been concerns regarding how COVID-19 data is handled. Personally identifiable information (such as health conditions, location, name, age, and contact details) is often necessary for contact tracing to be effective. Yet, despite its importance to managing public health, the collection, use, and storage of such data may have negative impacts on individual privacy if not handled correctly and transparently.
In line with this, having a COVID-19 response app that remains open and honest always regarding the personal data the application collects and the actions taken to keep user data secure should be your first choice. Aside from a GDPR-compliant data retention policy, look for an app that also uses AES-256 (Advanced Encryption Standard) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) for data at rest and data in transit, respectively.
COVID-19 Response Apps Overview
Here is a comparison table of the ten most useful COVID-19 response apps today:
| COVID-19 Response App | Best For | Free Version? | Pricing |
| SafetyCulture | General COVID-19 risk management and response in all countries and businesses | Yes, for teams with less than ten members | Starts at $19 per month with a 30-day trial |
| COVIDSafe | People in Australia | Yes | N/A |
| ServiceNow | Managing COVID-19 in the workplace | No | Dependent on the organization’s needs |
| TousAntiCovid | People in France | Yes | N/A |
| DHIS2 | Dissemination of health-related information and improving COVID-19 mitigation plans | Yes | N/A |
| Corona-Warn-App | People in Germany | Yes | N/A |
| MyCovidRisk | Calculating your risk for COVID-19 | Yes | N/A |
| NHS Covid-19 | People in England and Wales | Yes | N/A |
| The Coronavirus App | Monitoring COVID-19 data | Yes, but the free version does not have vaccination data | Optional to pay a starting fee of $3 a month |
Roselin Manawis