At the moment, government health agencies are
working together with technology companies. Google
and Apple updated their mobile operating systems
earlier this year to support contact-tracing apps from a
user’s local health authority. Those who opt in will
receive push alerts if they come into contact with
anyone who is later diagnosed with COVID-19, but
details are anonymized, and the onus is on the patient
to self-report their coronavirus diagnosis. Data is stored
on the device itself, not on Google or Apple servers, and
people can opt out at any time.
To get things fully under control, we’ll need contact-
tracing participation rates up to 80 percent, according
to data from Oxford University. While every little bit
helps, stopping COVID-19 in its tracks will require more
than uptake at the margins.
“For example, we estimate that in Washington state, a
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system could reduce infections by 15% and deaths by
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Medicine and Google Research said in September. But
Professor Christophe Fraser, co–lead author, tells the
BBC that to stop the outbreak completely, 56% of the
UK population would have to use the app, which is “a
very ambitious target.”
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contact-tracing app. Created by startup Twenty, Healthy
Together debuted in April and saw uptake of around
2%. But misinformation means contact tracing is going
slowly, even as cases explode, The Salt Lake Tribune
reports. Adoption stood at about 5% in October.
“We’re battling misinformation and politicization of
these issues, but there’s also just the kind of inherent
Google and
Apple updated
their mobile
operating
systems earlier
this year to
support
contact-
tracing apps.23