
By Paresh Dave and Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) – Colombia has removed the contact-tracing feature in its official app for informing residents about the novel coronavirus after experiencing glitches, but aims to rebuild using potentially more reliable technology from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Inc’s Google, a government official told Reuters.
The previously unreported moves by the Colombian government add to a growing number of accounts of countries adopting the Apple-Google technology and dropping alternatives aimed at helping them curtail outbreaks faster.
Contact tracing involves identifying, testing and isolating people exposed to the virus before they spread it to others, something that governments globally have said is vital to keep their economies safely opened until a vaccine exists. Apps that tap the Bluetooth sensors in smartphones to detect encounters with those who test positive could speed the process, experts…