Contact Tracing

CONTACT TRACING CORONAVIRUS? THERE’S AND APP FOR THAT!

WORDS BY | MICHELE DARR

Seems that no matter what the need is, someone has an app to fill the gap. The novel coronavirus, or COVID19, is no exception to the rule. The most current and hotly debated proposal involves using smartphones for “contact tracing.” Contact tracing is described as working backward from infected cases to identify people who may have been exposed to the disease, so that they can be tested, isolated, and—when possible—treated. The process of interviews and background work are time consuming and labor intensive, and countries such as Singapore, South Korea and Israel have enlisted technology, including mobile apps, to help trace the trajectory of cases. This idea is now catching on in the United States with North Dakota and Utah releasing voluntary contact-tracing apps that track users’ location as they move about.

In the rush to curb transmission and spread of the disease, an article published on April 27th, 2020 by the Brookings Institute warned that “app notifications of contact with COVID-19 are likely to be simultaneously over- and under-inclusive”, the report stated. “Experts” in several disciplines have shown why mobile phones and their sensors make for imperfect proxies for coronavirus exposure. False positives (reports of exposure when none existed) can arise easily. Individuals may be flagged as having contacted one another despite very low possibility of transmission—such as when the individuals are separated by walls porous enough for a Bluetooth signal to penetrate. Nor do the systems account for when individuals take precautions, such as the use of personal protective equipment, in their interactions with others.”

Privacy is far and away the biggest concern amongst tech and government leaders alike. From excessive data gathering with little to no requirement of liability for personal information of users, to glitches and concerns over it being used as a tool of sophisticated surveillance, there are many reputable experts weighing in that the risks of this technology currently far outweigh the benefits. In the interest of safeguarding people’s health data, most of us can agree that it is paramount to develop the highest possible standards of safety and efficacy.

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