SINGAPORE: Good contact tracing is “absolutely essential” to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission, to quickly identify cases and isolate them, said Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday (Jun 8).
Identifying people who have been exposed to COVID-19 also enables them to take “appropriate precautions” to prevent further transmission.
AdvertisementAdvertisement“For everyone else who is not yet a patient, it is in our own interest to know quickly and early whether any of us have had close exposure to a patient who is COVID-19 positive,” he added.
Peak viral load occurs early in the disease, and there are cases of pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 transmission, noted Dr Balakrishnan at a multi-ministry task force press conference.
“That makes it all the more vital that we identify both patients and close contexts as soon as possible. I can't emphasise enough the need for quick identification, and this is where the digital tools come in.”
[h=3]READ: Recent rise in COVID-19 community cases due to 'proactive' screening, situation remains 'under control'[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Government is developing a portable and wearable contact tracing device, which will achieve the same objective as the TraceTogether mobile app but without the need for a smartphone, Dr Balakrishnan had said in Parliament on Friday.
The first batch of the devices, or the TraceTogether tokens, will be delivered in the second half of June, Dr Balakrishnan said on Monday, adding that the devices will operate and function “exactly the same way” TraceTogether does on a smartphone.
“So here's where I need to emphasise, and repeatedly emphasise, it is not a tracking device. It is not an electronic tag, as some Internet commentaries have fretted about. In particular, and here to be technical, there is no GPS chip on the device. There isn't even any Internet or mobile telephone connectivity," he said.
Without a GPS chip, the device cannot track an individual’s location and movements, and without Internet connectivity, there is “no possibility” of data being uploaded “without the participation and consent of the user”.
Like the TraceTogether app, the device only captures Bluetooth proximity data, said Dr Balakrishnan.
“And that data never leaves the device or the phone. It is encrypted. It is stored for up to 25 days and automatically deleted.”
The data will only be used by the Ministry of Health (MOH) if an individual is diagnosed with COVID-19, and “only a very limited restricted team of contact tracers” will have access to the data to reconstruct an activity map to identify the full range of interactions that the patient might have had.
“It's worth emphasising that there isn't one big, giant centralised database. In fact, the data is decentralised and encrypted on phones and on devices, and only uploaded, if it is positive,” said Dr Balakrishnan, who is also Foreign Affairs Minister.
“Again I want to emphasise, there is no electronic tagging. There is no geolocation tracking. This is only purely focused on Bluetooth proximity data, and only used for contact tracing.”
The data that is uploaded is protected by public sector data security recommendations, and the review committee will oversee this, he said.
All the officers involved are also covered by the Official Secrets Act, and audits will take place to make sure no data leakage occurs, added Dr Balakrishnan.
“Remember, ultimately, the real test of the pudding is whether we can shorten the time from identification of a patient or close contact to isolation, bring down the effective reproduction number of this epidemic, and also reassure people that we are getting the balance right between protecting public health, and protecting personal privacy," he told reporters.
“I believe it is possible to protect both, and we're going to do so in a manner which is open and transparent.”
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: Telegram: Contact @cnalatest
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...