Social Distancing. Flattening the Curve. Herd Immunity. Over the last few weeks there have been a lot of coronavirus related buzzwords that have gone viral just as much as the virus has. But soon there will be another buzzword that we will be hearing a lot about: Contact Tracing.
This isn’t something new or unique to COVID-19 It’s a standard operating procedure for health officials tasked with determining how any outbreak started and preventing it from spreading any further. In short, it refers to the act of tracing who a person has come in contact with and informing them that may be at risk so that they can quarantine themselves and prevent further spread.
What’s worth noting now is that we’re about to get a digital version thanks to a unprecedented partnership between Apple and Google that will enable contact tracing to occur via our phones through Bluetooth technology. And best of all it will all happen anonymously with location tracking turned off so as to protect an individuals identity.
The Intercept explains how it will work:
“Although the exact plans for using Bluetooth vary between governments, the gist is simple: In order for your iPhone to connect to your friend’s Bluetooth speaker, it has to essentially shout its existence into the electromagnetic spectrum, sending repeated radio messages that announce that the device is turned on and willing to pair with another. It’s exactly these short, repeating radio wave bursts that tech companies and public health authorities hope can be used for contact tracing, by collecting an anonymized record of every Bluetooth announcement within a certain range.
If one of these ‘HELLO, I AM BLUETOOTH!’ messages ends up coming from an individual who later tests positive for COVID-19, the hope is that anyone else whose phone was able to detect that message could then be alerted and tested (or treated) accordingly. It’s a fine, if somewhat ambitious, plan on paper, and the Apple/Google partnership is already drawing generally positive commentary from the privacy and civil liberties-minded set for its efforts to mask the identity of a Bluetooth device’s owner.”
Of course contact tracing only works if everyone downloads the app and takes the time to report their test results. I’m also not exactly sure how accurate the Bluetooth technology is. Can it tell for instance if you were within six feet of someone who later tested positive (the supposed safe distance) or just that your two phones may have been within Bluetooth range of each other (whatever how many feet that is)? And will people even willingly participate in such a program? Even if privacy concerns have been alleviated there will still be those people who distrust the government and don’t want their movements being tracked at all. Even if it is for the greater good.
Is Contact Tracing the Greatest Idea Ever?
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