Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google will release two early versions this week of their proposed technology to slow the coronavirus spread to select developers for testing purposes, the companies said, according to Reuters.

The rare collaboration is expected to accelerate usage of apps that aim to get potentially infected individuals into testing or quarantine more quickly and reliably than existing systems in much of the world.

Such tracing will play a vital role in managing the virus once lockdowns end, health experts say.