MySejahtera finally gets Bluetooth contact tracing feature, check-out no longer required

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has announced that the MySejahtera contract tracing app finally comes with a Bluetooth tracing feature. The feature would help to notify individuals within close proximity which is crucial when identifying close contacts of a COVID-19 positive case.

The Bluetooth tracing feature is called MySJ Trace and it will be rolled out with the latest MySejahtera version for Android, iOS and Huawei devices. According to Khairy, the new feature is pushed simultaneously to all platforms but at the time of writing, it is only available on Huawei AppGallery.

Like the name suggests, it uses Bluetooth to identify other MySJ Trace users nearby. From the looks of it, users will need to grant permission to allow MySJ Trace to use your device’s Bluetooth and to enable push notification. The feature will collect anonymised data of other MySJ users detected in the last 14 days. If you’re confirmed positive for COVID-19, you can share your Bluetooth interaction data with the Ministry of Health to notify potential close contacts.

Khairy said that the new feature is highly encouraged when going to public places in an indoor setting. With this new update, MySejahtera has also removed the check-out button feature which many users often forget to check out after leaving the premises.

Overall, the feature would provide a more accurate and efficient contact tracing method. A more reliable contact tracing method is essential in preparation for the next wave of COVID-19 infections, following the emergence of the Omicron variant. However, the feature would only be useful if most MySejahtera users grant MySJ trace permission for Bluetooth access.

A national Bluetooth tracing app has been in the works since the first phase of the movement control order early last year. When Khairy was the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, he introduced MyTrace which uses Bluetooth for close contact tracing and it was somewhat similar to Singapore’s TraceTogether app.

In April last year, Google and Apple have teamed up to introduce a universal COVID-19 Exposure Notification feature that’s accessible to public health authorities. The Exposure Notification API uses only Bluetooth and it doesn’t track GPS or location data. At the time of writing, Malaysia still hasn’t supported the feature. Hopefully, MySejahtera will utilise the API following its introduction of MySJ Trace.

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