In the current pandemic, finding the right balance between the protection of public health and respecting civil liberties has proven to be supremely difficult.
In response to the Covid-19 epidemic, more than 50 countries have developed tracing applications to help alert citizens and authorities when outbreaks occur. But the process is anything but simple.
On a family camping trip over the Australia Day long weekend, I sat in a tent with my laptop, designing New South Wales’ first genomic sequencing test for COVID-19.
South Africa’s testing and tracing has not been at a level needed to suppress the spread of COVID-19. It must now focus on containing opportunities for super-spreading and transmissions.
Smartphone apps and wearable devices can tell when workers have been within six feet of each other, promising to help curb the coronavirus. But they’re not all the same when it comes to privacy.
Smart city solutions have proved handy for curbing the contagion, but recent experience has also shown how much they rely on public trust. And that in turn depends on transparency and robust safeguards
COVIDSafe uses Bluetooth radio waves. These can only measure how physically close two people are, but not if those people are in the same room, or even in different cars passing each other.
From conflicts with specialised medical devices, through to unresolved problems with iPhone functionality, COVIDSafe is in need of updates. A major one may come within the next few weeks.
A critical problem with the bill is it allows the federal government to collect much more personal data from COVIDSafe users than is necessary for contact tracing.
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.