It’s all well and good to be able to connect cases through genomic sequencing. But it’s important to be able to connect them epidemiologically as well.
The government of Ontario’s announcement of funding of a wearable contact tracking device for workplaces raises concerns about privacy and surveillance.
When people who test positive to COVID-19 become subject to ridicule for their activities, it could make others feel reluctant to get tested, or reveal their movements to contact tracers.
Exposure notification systems alert people when they’ve been exposed to the coronavirus but don’t record the information.
AleksandarGeorgiev/E+ via Getty Images
Bluetooth wireless communication makes it possible to track when people have been exposed to people infected with the coronavirus. The right cryptography scheme keeps alerts about exposures private.
We can speed up our coronavirus response using statistics.
Jane Barlow/PA
We are repeatedly missing opportunities to gain quality evidence to help us manage the pandemic – that’s why we need designed evaluations.
Workers prepare to greet passengers at the COVID-19 testing centre in the international arrivals area at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Jan. 26, 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Recently announced travel restrictions are intended to curb the spread of COVID-19 variants. However, we need to do a better job of tracking arrivals into the country.
States and territories have reacted to the Sydney COVID outbreak with varying degrees of travel restrictions. But border closures are a blunt tool, given almost all cases are linked to known hotspots.
From failing to consider the costs of not locking down, to underestimating the role of dumb luck in a pandemic, here are some critical thinking mistakes not to repeat in 2021.
New Zealand has joined a long list of countries using Google and Apple’s mobile contact tracing framework. But if it’s not compatible with Australia’s app, what does that mean for travellers?
Designed by psychologists, the free and anonymous web-based app can help you remember who you came in contact with.
Ani Ka via Getty Images
With new US COVID-19 cases topping 200,000 a day, contact tracers are overwhelmed. Here’s how infected people can start tracing and notifying contacts themselves.
If you’ve tested positive for COVID-19, a public health officer will call you to interview you. It can be confronting – but it’s important to answer the contact tracer’s questions as best you can.
Jimmy Whitworth, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Here’s what the west can learn from South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and more.
A person wears a protective face mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as they walk past the emergency department of the Vancouver General Hospital on Nov. 18, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
While Chief Scientist Alan Finkel’s review of contact tracing only briefly mentions digital methods, it’s crucial Australia invests in an automated system.
Current contact-tracing statistics do not track coronavirus positive cases from receiving test results, nor factor in all close contacts for cases. Here’s how to make it better.
There is cause for optimism. But now the pendulum swings towards individuals taking responsibility for managing risks, rather than government telling you what you can and can’t do.