One app to rule them all.
PC-Covid, a new app announced by authorities on September 30 and immediately available through Google Play and the App Store, will replace the dozen-or-so apps with various functions related to the pandemic. The Information Technology Application Authority under the Ministry of Information and Communications has stated that PC-Covid will have nine features, including the ability store users' personal information, facilitate health declarations, hold vaccination and testing information, and hazard mapping.
The QR-code-enabled green card function will be amongst PC-Covid's most important features. It will allow users who have had two vaccinations or proof of recovery from the virus to simply and easily show and scan their status and thus take part in a variety of occupational and recreational activities as part of the easing of social distancing rules.
The new app is in response to the confusion people increasingly endured because of the plethora of apps with different uses, including Bluezone, NCOVI, VNEID, and the electronic health book. Reviews were mixed for the ease of use for many of these apps and people were uncertain which to download and why.
Personal information from the Bluezone app can be automatically updated to PC-Covid, while the other apps will no longer be updated and eventually removed from device stores. Until all relevant data is updated on PC-Covid, Saigon authorities have announced that citizens can temporarily use the apps Y Tế HCM (from the municipal health department) and VNEID (from the Ministry of Public Security) to move around the city.
Users have reportedly experienced difficulties with PC-Covid on the day of its rolling out, including an inability to download it or use the scan function, in addition to it not synchronizing with the Bluezone app. Authorities said they are working on updating and refining the app and attributed some of the issues to the number of people trying to simultaneously access it.
As of the time of writing the app is only available in Vietnamese and English, and no plans for other languages have been announced.
