COVID-19: Types Of Contact Tracing Apps
The global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our daily lives. With the number of cases increasing daily, tracing the infected patients, the ones who came in close proximity to them, and quarantining them as a safety measure is a herculean task.
Technologists and health officials around the world are in the hot pursuit to craft smartphone apps which could aid them in tracing the infected patients. Contact tracing apps rely on the movement of a person and their activities in the past few days so that they could find and quarantine them as a safety measure.
Apps That Use BlueTooth
Bluetooth is a short-range radio technology used for connections like a wireless headset to a smartphone. It detects when another Bluetooth signal is in the near distance, thus making it ideal for contact tracing.
Singapore’s tracing app, TraceTogether is the first Bluetooth-based contact-tracing app. When a person is tested positive for COVID-19, health authorities can check their BlueTooth history and contact all personnel who came near them.
Countries like Australia, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom have developed similar BlueTooth based apps.
Apple-Google BlueTooth Approach
The two tech giants, Google and Apple are working on improving the usage of BlueTooth in their new software updates. However, these two companies set strict privacy rules which do not allow these apps to collect any personal data from smartphone users. Currently, the data from BlueTooth is stored only on the phone. When a user is confirmed to be positive for COVID-19, a notification is sent to users whom they possibly came in contact with. Though various countries like France, Norway, and the USA complained about the technology being too limiting to get data about the potential clusters, various other governments are adopting this technology.
Apps That Use Phone Location
The GPS satellite system, with the help of the cell phone network, makes it possible for governments to track the movement of a smartphone user. Using a database, health authorities can track when and where a person who is tested positive for the viral disease has traveled and came in close proximity to someone.
Though the data might be inaccurate and a bit faulty, countries like India, Israel, Ghana, and the USA have rolled apps to trace contacts using this technology.
Apps That Go Beyond Contact Tracing
Some countries like China have developed apps to collect personal health data, travel, and other information which is used to control diseases and to identify individuals at risk. Chinese citizens must carry an app that rates their health risks when they make use of public space and transport. India has launched a similar app to analyze the health risk of the citizens.
Notable Contact Tracing Apps
- Aarogya Setu
- TraceTogether
- CovidWatch
- HaMagen
- The Corona DataSpende
- COVID Symptom Tracker
- NHS smartphone app
- Let’s Beat Covid-19
- PeduliLindungi
- Kwarantana Dommowa
The world is struggling with the pandemic, which urges the government to adopt measures to track and trace the patients and those who came in close proximity to them, helping the authorities to quarantine. In these desperate times, contact tracing apps play a huge role in keeping us safe.
