Sudan launches online coronavirus testing project

By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - Sudan launched an online project to help in testing and containing the novel coronavirus that has widely spread in the country, according to a health official on Wednesday.

The project that has established a smart phone application called Corona SAFE will help overcome shortages of mass testing in the country, Sara Alamlik, the head of the health support division in the Health Ministry, told a press conference in the capital Khartoum.

Corona SAFE provides users with information on the symptoms of COVID-19, as well as instructions on precautions to avoid contracting the disease.

For his part, Mohamed Abuagla, the chairman of the US-based company Enaya Tech that established the application, told Anadolu Agency the it aims to enable the Sudanese to live safely with the virus in the coming period and help the ministry fill the testing gap in the country.

"We worked for four months to come up with this solution to help people live safely with the coronavirus," he said.

Abuagla added: "The virus is going to stay with us for a long time and therefore, we need to find mechanisms and ways so we can work with it and live our life as safely as we can while we are maintaining the precautions and safety measures," he said.

Sudan has registered more than 11,000 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic last March.