MANILA - The Philippines is looking into a contact-tracing application from Singapore that could help in the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Information and Communications Technology said Sunday.

TraceTogether records encounter between app users by exchanging bluetooth signals within 2 to 5-meters, the DICT said as it underscored the need for a system that will "minimize, if not prevent, the local spread of the coronavirus."

"If one app user tested positive for COVID-19, authorities will be able to identify other app users who were in close contact with the patient," the DICT said in a statement.

The DICT said Singapore is willing to provide technical assistance for the app, according to its Ambassador Gerard Ho Wei Hong.

Singapore earlier donated 40,000 test kits and related machines to the Philippines as it confronts the COVID-19 pandemic that originated in China.

• Singapore donates 40,000 test kits to the Philippines