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Bluetooth Low Energy is unsuitable for COVID-19 contact tracing, say inventors
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nctnico:
The Dutch government has become awfully quiet about a tracking app. The new mantra is testing testing testing and manual contact tracing.
Zero999:

--- Quote from: cdev on May 19, 2020, 01:59:46 am ---Where its accurate, the risk of infection is almost zero.

Where its inaccuate, or unavailable, the risk of infection is high. That doesn't make sense to me, does it to you?

--- End quote ---
It depends on how it's inaccurate. Yes, if it doesn't generate enough positives, when it should, then it will allow the infection to spread too much and be useless, but if it errs on the side of caution and generates more positives, than necessary, then it will reduce the rate of infection. If everyone on the same train carriage goes into self-isolation for a week, because one person had it, then any of them who have caught it won't infect anyone else and it would have done its job.

And you've completely missed the point that just because GPS is unavailable in some buildings it doesn't make it useless. If some people are at a bus stop, then disappear off the radar, only to reappear somewhere else, a few miles down the road, they've obviously been on the bus together and if one of them is infected, then the others should self-isolate for a week. It doesn't take much imagination to see how this could be effective for tracking people to other indoor spaces.


--- Quote from: SparkyFX on May 19, 2020, 05:12:11 pm ---
--- Quote from: Zero999 on May 18, 2020, 10:22:50 pm ---We're not epidemiologists and I doubt the developers are either, so we can't form reliable opinions on how well or not it will work in real life. It's definitely worth a try. Any intervention in disease control has costs and risks, which is why extensive in-field testing is required to determine whether they're worth the benefits.
--- End quote ---
That's for sure, it could add to the set of tools for contact tracing, but imho never replace it, because the false positives might be so widespread that you immediatly go to lockdown anyway or the threshold is set so high that too many cases are under the radar and you get an outbreak.

It surely helps in cases like where you can't name the person you sat next to in public transport, trying to identify all riders is next to impossible.

--- End quote ---
I agree, there needs to be some manual intervention for it to work well. Even if GPS isn't used to track the person continuously, position data could be stored on the users phone and only uploaded when they test positive, with their consent and the condition that it's deleted within a week. For maximum transparency it could be in plain text format. Heck GPS might even be useful if it's only stored locally and never uploaded. It can help the user who's had a hit decide whether they need to self-isolate and get tested or not.

Testing will help to reduce the number of people self-isolating due to false positives, but simply asking someone questions can cut down on the number of wasted tests. For example, I cycle to work and being outdoors it's unlikely I'll infect anyone, or pick up it up off anyone else, so if my phone were to get a hit during my journey to work, there's little point in being tested or self-isolating. If the person who's infected is on a bus which overtakes me and I get the hit, then it's impossible for them to infect me, but possible other people on the bus could have caught it. All it would take is for someone to ask me if I ride the bus at that time of day to eliminate me.
tom66:
Well, the good news is the contract tracers will all know each other, at least in the UK.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52732818

Seriously, do people still not understand Bcc vs Cc?
Syntax Error:
Here in the UK, public sector service provider Serco does not exactly enjoy the best reputation when it comes to IT security. As one of the UK goverment's go-to cheapest is best providers, it's more 'Ryan Air' than 'Emirates'. So employing a 'high flyer' who doesn't know how to send an email, is no real surprise. Knowing that Serco is in the supply chain for UK contact tracing leaves me to consider, should the app be avoided?
nctnico:

--- Quote from: Zero999 on May 19, 2020, 10:33:43 pm ---It depends on how it's inaccurate. Yes, if it doesn't generate enough positives, when it should, then it will allow the infection to spread too much and be useless, but if it errs on the side of caution and generates more positives, than necessary, then it will reduce the rate of infection. If everyone on the same train carriage goes into self-isolation for a week, because one person had it, then any of them who have caught it won't infect anyone else and it would have done its job.

--- End quote ---
GPS is useless for tracking. The inaccuracy in a city can easely be +/-80m (if not more with high buildings around). A much better option is to use triangulation between cell towers.
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