Coronavirus tracking app

A valued CF'er has suggested we have a separate thread (thank you, you "Born again teenager" for a great suggestion), where we could focus/engage on a slightly more technical aspect of the pandemic, and hear different views on the various options available.

Some background -

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/0...rus_phone_app/

In an effort to fend off the coronavirus while getting economies restarted, the world has hit on the same idea: a smartphone app that alerts people if they have been close to someone who has the virus.

It may be the only effective solution to mass lockdowns; the virus is spreading “too fast to be contained by manual contact tracing, but could be controlled if this process was faster, more efficient and happened at scale,” researchers from the University of Oxford have concluded in a new paper.

They argue that “a contact-tracing app which builds a memory of proximity contacts and immediately notifies contacts of positive cases can achieve epidemic control if used by enough people.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52393115

The NHS has been testing out a new app designed to help control the spread of the coronavirus.

It uses Bluetooth technology in phones to tell you if you have come into close contact with a person who has Covid-19 symptoms.

If a person thinks they have coronavirus symptoms, they will let the app know, and they will be sent a home-testing kit.

If the results of the test show that the person does have coronavirus it will send out a message to all the people that have been near to them, to let them know they should stay at home and self-isolate, in case they get symptoms too.

At the moment the app only sends out two messages: "You're okay" meaning you don't have to self-isolate, or "You need to isolate yourself and stay at home".

This type of technology is called contact tracing.

These message alerts will be sent anonymously, which means it won't tell you who has the symptoms, just that you have been near to a person who has.

The app is currently being tested to see if it works properly at an RAF base in Yorkshire.

If the app passes the testing process the NHS is hoping it can be released by mid-May, although a final decision will be taken by the government.

Similar apps have been used in countries like South Korea to help keep track of the spread of the virus.

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by Hugh

A valued CF'er has suggested we have a separate thread (thank you, you "Born again teenager" for a great suggestion), where we could focus/engage on a slightly more technical aspect of the pandemic, and hear different views on the various options available.

Some background -

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/0...rus_phone_app/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52393115

it will send out a message to all the people that have been near to them, to let them know they should stay at home and self-isolate, in case they get symptoms too.

That should get everyone into panic mode and locked away in no time at all.
The only people on the streets will be the oldies who don't have a smart phone.

[Russ]

If it's any help I've been using this:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/covid-...r/id1503529611

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Russ

If it's any help I've been using this:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/covid-...r/id1503529611

I'm using the same but have to be careful that I'm not simply recording my hangovers.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

it will send out a message to all the people that have been near to them, to let them know they should stay at home and self-isolate, in case they get symptoms too.

That should get everyone into panic mode and locked away in no time at all.
The only people on the streets will be the oldies who don't have a smart phone.

l am not quite a oldie yet although my family might have different thoughts about that but l cannot even find anything Covid 19 related on my phone apart from one which is researched based. and you have to sign up to.

[jfman]

I think there's a concern around privacy, understandably, and with the whole Cambridge Analytica nonsense I'm sure there's a proportion of the public going to be sceptical about using this.

On top of that the 5G conspiracy theorists will probably try to find some way to sabotage it.

[Carth]

(from original post) It uses Bluetooth technology in phones to tell you if you have come into close contact with a person who has Covid-19 symptoms.

If a person thinks they have coronavirus symptoms, they will let the app know, and they will be sent a home-testing kit.

Firstly, does this mean you need to have Bluetooth enabled at all times?

Secondly, are there going to be a great number of people 'claiming' they have the symptoms in order to get a test kit?

Just curious . . and a little sceptical

Originally Posted by Russ

If it's any help I've been using this:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/covid-...r/id1503529611

Me too.

[joglynne]

Thanks Hugh, This is my take and I know we already have a thread dealing with Corvid-19 so I thought it was worth discussing the new NHSX coronavirus contact tracking app.
snippet..

Professor Fraser said the concept of the app is “very simple”.

“If you are diagnosed with coronavirus, the people you’ve recently come into contact with will be messaged advising them to isolate,” he adds.

“If this mobile app is developed and deployed rapidly, and enough people opt-in to use such an approach, we can slow the spread of coronavirus and mitigate against devastating human, economic and social impacts.”

Dr David Bonsall researcher at Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine explained current contact testing strategies are no longer viable.

“At the current stage of the epidemic, contact tracing can no longer be performed effectively by public health officials in the UK, and many countries across Europe, as coronavirus is spreading too rapidly,” he said.

“Our research of early data from other countries shows that patient histories are incomplete – we don’t know the details of the person we sat next to on the bus. We need an instantaneous and anonymous digital solution to confirm our person-to-person contact history.”

https://www.digitalhealth.net/2020/0...-tracking-app/

Further developments reported by the BBC
snippet..

24th April 2020 Apple and Google have tightened privacy measures in the contact-tracing scheme they are offering to health authorities and brought forward its launch.

The tech giants now intend to release a software building block to developers on Tuesday (28th April 2020), allowing them to build compatible apps. A fortnight ago, the firms said it would take until mid-May.

I know that this forum has a lot of members who have a sound understanding of the technology being used and what all this could mean less tech savvy members such as myself.

• Will this lead to less privacy?
• Will I get told that I have possibly have been infected by hundreds of infectious people within a 50 meter radius or can the Bluetooth contact are be restricted to only report ...say 5/10 metres?
• Will having this app on my phone pose a security risk?
• Will having this app make people feel more eager to engage in social interaction because they assume that the people they are in contact with must not be infected?

I normally value my privacy and security so having my Bluetooth and GPS turned on permanently goes against the grain and on a practical note how will having these things active effect my battery.

.... and finally, will it work if we don't have mass testing, much faster results and can't ensure that people will pass on the information that they are infectious?

Threads merged

[heero_yuy]

Sounds like the perfect app for a paranoid hypochondriac.

I have a mobile but it doesn't "do" apps apart from those that are built in.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

Sounds like the perfect app for a paranoid hypochondriac.

I have a mobile but it doesn't "do" apps apart from those that are built in.

Oh golly l dare not mention that word with someone l know well in our household although she has admitted on occasions that she can be a hypochondriac.

Not much use unless you have a "smart" phone.

Originally Posted by joglynne

I know that this forum has a lot of members who have a sound understanding of the technology being used and what all this could mean less tech savvy members such as myself.

• Will this lead to less privacy?
• Will I get told that I have possibly have been infected by hundreds of infectious people within a 50 meter radius or can the Bluetooth contact are be restricted to only report ...say 5/10 metres?
• Will having this app on my phone pose a security risk?
• Will having this app make people feel more eager to engage in social interaction because they assume that the people they are in contact with must not be infected?

I normally value my privacy and security so having my Bluetooth and GPS turned on permanently goes against the grain and on a practical note how will having these things active effect my battery.

.... and finally, will it work if we don't have mass testing, much faster results and can't ensure that people will pass on the information that they are infectious?

I have read though the Apple/Google API and it's very clever. It will be quite good at protecting privacy to the extent that it's not a concern for me at all, you leak more information about yourself using social media, other apps and even posting on here than you would with this app.

But we're not clear if the NHS app is using this API and in France they're in conflict with Apple about it. Apple do not let various tasks run in the background and France want them to let them do so for their version of the app. Apple are saying no. Use our API. So we'll what happens.

Any for your questions:

[*]Will this lead to less privacy?

Slightly but not really. You get given a rolling, randomly generated, token each day and it broadcasts to other phones a slightly different version every so often to avoid people tracking you via that broadcasted ID. The token used to generate that key is only on your device.

[*]Will I get told that I have possibly have been infected by hundreds of infectious people within a 50 meter radius or can the Bluetooth contact are be restricted to only report ...say 5/10 metres?

It'll be a smaller range, the 5-10 meters. And you need to be exposed to them for a set period of time. The API's minimum is 5 minutes.
[*]Will having this app on my phone pose a security risk?

In theory you could be tracked via the broadcasted ID but Apple/Google have accounted for that and randomise the ID every so often.
[*]Will having this app make people feel more eager to engage in social interaction because they assume that the people they are in contact with must not be infected?

No, you'll never know who was or wasn't infected. All you get is a notification one of IDs you met has tested positive.

[joglynne]

Thank you Damien. I feel a lot more reassured on the security side.

I guess it will still be some time before there are enough people tested to ensure that the app functions in a meaningful way for much of the population.