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Digital proximity tools for contact tracing and quarantine

Published : Wednesday, 9 March, 2022 at 12:00 AM  Count : 1926
Helal Uddin
Helal Uddin

Helal Uddin

All over the world, countries are trying their best to strengthen their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital proximity tools have a vital role in controlling the spread of the virus, particularly in contact tracing and quarantine. The advantage of contact tracing tools is disconnecting the human-to-human transmission, detecting those exposed to confirmed cases, and following up the quarantine.

Early detection of the confirmed case and close contacts are the pre-condition to limit infectious disease transmission. Although proximity tracking technologies are showing their effectiveness for dismissing the challenges related to traditional tracing in several countries, some critical aspects of these technologies, particularly the sensitivity and specificity of these tools, affect the detection of true close contacts.

Moreover, the availability of many digital tools is not sufficient and it poses gaps for the implementation of that tools.

As there are a few pharmacological measures for the COVID-19, prevention is highly based on non-pharmacological interventions like digital proximity tools for contact tracing, isolation, or quarantine as the operational technique to control the outbreak.

These proximity tools mainly use Bluetooth or GPS to track a person exposed to a positive case by detecting spatial proximity and confirming the suspected case. The device user can report if they have tested positive, and the apps help to detect other users within the range. Then, the risk users get an alert to avoid the risk of contamination.

Besides, Apple and Google have launched a unifying update of their Bluetooth short-range wireless protocols for building a contract tracing application. Build-in software is also common in some countries, including Ireland, Great Britain, Germany, and the United States.
Digital tools, including artificial intelligence, are helping for rapid reporting, virus-related data management, and analysis.
Therefore, these tools have become an integral part of developing the health system's efficacy in many countries. For example, mobile health applications showed their effectiveness during the Ebola and Zika virus outbreak. Furthermore, data on contact tracing and quarantine also helps the government, researchers, and stakeholders to understand more about the virus and the harmful effects regarding age, sex, and comorbidities in different communities.

While digital proximity tools enable the authority to trace the contact and monitor the quarantine, these tools have some limitations. Proximity tracking tools will be ineffective in some contexts, particularly in rural and low-income communities.

Hence, the digital tools will only be fruitful when the application users know how to use the application and report the information. In addition, individuals, who are instructed for self-isolation through the proximity tools, must have clear guidelines for reducing the risk of onward transmission. Thus, effective isolation measures and guidelines are required for effective contact tracing and quarantine.

Epidemiological studies suggest that contact tracing will be operational increasingly when more people follow the application. For example, at least 60% coverage of the population is essential for ensuring an effective contact-tracing program.

Therefore, the users will be lower in number in places where people have low connectivity and resources and low digital capacity. In addition, data transparency, including how the information will be used and stored, is urgent for clear communication to the public, ensuring a successful contact-tracing program.

As proximity tools use Bluetooth or GPS for location tracking, it is serious concern over how the data will be preserved and who can access it. In some countries, the measures of data privacy are limited. For example, in South Kores, people are traced using GPS location, credit card history, and surveillance cameras before testing the condition.

Furthermore, many proximity tools have a lower precision to distinguish between people who are genuinely sharing a space or located in a nearby room. This situation may give incorrect notification to the people who were not in close contact with the positive case.

In addition, it raises the question of trust in the tools. Also, digital proximity tools have limitations in providing little detailed information. For instance, it fails to capture the period of exposure. As a result, individuals who cross the way and share the space for longer are given the same treatment.
There are somecritical points to move forward. Firstly, factors such as the active pathogen period, the volume of pathogens, host immunity, etc., should be considered a possible transmission path. Secondly, these digital tools are not enough to capture vulnerable populations, such as rural, elderly, and poor.

Therefore, it is best to consider alternative technology or combine traditional or indigenous technology to target vulnerable people (such as Dimagi'sCommCare application). Thirdly, the risks of further waves of the virus remain, such as waves for the imported cases. Lastly, in addition to implementing digital tools for tracing and isolation, the government should manage sufficient hospitalization and COVID-19 treatment resources.

Contact tracing is an excellent public health practice applied to combat infectious diseases. However, innovative technology combining indigenous knowledge and the hospital's capacity to manage and deal with patients is still required.
Helal Uddin, Student of Erasmus Mundus Master in Public Health in Disasters (University of Oviedo, Spain) and Senior Lecturer (On Leave) at East West University, Bangladesh.  





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