Covid contact tracing tool

A team of researchers from Western University in London, Ontario, has created a cutting-edge tool to help policymakers at the provincial and national levels choose the most appropriate contact-tracing apps. These applications play a crucial role in combating infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Public health officials heavily depend on contact tracing (CT) to locate and quarantine individuals who have been in close proximity to confirmed cases. This process effectively stops the spread of the disease. In the past, CT has typically been done manually. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the development of several smartphone apps aimed at expediting this process. Nevertheless, there are valid concerns about privacy and effectiveness associated with these apps.

A new tool has been developed by computer science professor Anwar Haque and research associate Rashed Nekvi. This tool assesses contact-tracing apps by calculating a privacy score. The score is determined by considering federal privacy laws and international guidelines provided by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The researchers emphasize that apps with greater effectiveness often come with increased privacy risks, and vice versa. They highlight Canada's COVID ALERT app as an example, emphasizing that it has been downloaded 4.7 million times, reaching approximately 12 percent of the population. However, they argue that this level of adoption is not enough for the app to be fully effective. Haque and Nekvi are optimistic that their tool will assist policymakers in selecting the most suitable app, thereby enhancing public confidence in these technologies. While the tool is currently designed to meet the specific requirements of Canadian users, there is potential for it to be modified for use in evaluating CT software in international markets.