The number of COVID-19 cases is surging around the world. With a vaccine likely to be unavailable for several months, countries are working on strategies to contain the spread of the virus even as they lift restrictions on the movement of their citizens. Contact tracing is a method that has been employed by several countries to limit the spread of COVID-19. It includes tracing and quarantining people who have been infected with the disease or exposed to the virus. Manual contact tracing has to rely heavily on human memory in times of stress, is time-intensive, and needs to reach a large scale in order to be an effective tool to combat the disease. Artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies can help overcome these challenges and achieve the goal. There are multiple ways of using technology in contact tracing, with several nations producing their own solutions. This article reviews the use of technology in available methods of contact tracing along with the limitations, concerns and challenges of those techniques. With appropriate safeguards, technology-based contact tracing methods will help us to manage the current infection spreads and the future spikes that are expected, while continuing to allow our economies to remain open.
Published In:IJCSN Journal Volume 9, Issue 3
Date of Publication : June 2020
Pages : 140-146
Figures :07
Tables : 01
Aniruddha Pispati :
obtained the B.S. degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He has interned at Salesforce, Yahoo and NCSA in USA, and is currently Software Engineer at Endimension Technology, IIT Bombay. His primary interests include cyber security and artificial intelligence.
Bharadwaj K.S.S. :
obtained the B. Tech in Aerospace Engineering
from IIT Chennai, and M. Tech in Computer Science & Engineering
from IIT Bombay. He worked for Edutor Technologies Hyderabad
where he developed p roprietary in house tools for windows and
android platforms, and then for General Electric Bangalore where
he was awarded "GE Global Award for External Focus". He is
Founder and CEO of Endimension Technology, IIT Bombay.
Apparao M.L.V. :
obtained the B. Tec h in Chemical Engineering
from Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, in 2012. He was
subsequently Research Scientist at Asian Paints (2012 2015) and
then Techno Marketing Researcher at Huntsman International
(2015 2018). His Patents published US10040 886B2(USA),
EP2999726B1. He is Co Founder and COO, Endimension
Technology, IIT Bombay.
COVID-19; Contact tracing; Technology in contact tracing; Artificial intelligence; Mobile applications in COVID-19; Coronavirus.
Contact tracing has been adopted to various degrees by different nations. Some countries have deployed mobile applications on a large scale, incorporating Bluetooth, location tracking, and artificial intelligence technologies; others have opted for establishing software solutions based on video analytics and machine learning, that work with physical systems. These techniques have a lot of benefits. While it may be too early to see how contact tracing technological solutions have improved our current situation, we should continue to apply vigorous contact tracing.
[1] Dong E, Du H, Gardner L. An interactive web-based dashboard to track COVID-19 in real time. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20:533-4
[2] Hui DS, Azhar EI, Madani TA, Ntoumi F, Kock R, Dar O, et al. The continuing 2019-nCoV epidemic threat of novel coronaviruses to global health - The latest 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. Int J Infect Dis. 2020;91:264-6
[3] WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020. World Health Organization. 2020. Available from:
https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020/
[4] COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Available from:
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
[5] McCullough M. Coronavirus math shows the importance of social distancing, and the horrible consequences of not doing it. The Philadelphia Inquirer. 2020 Mar 24. Available from:
https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-wuhan-math-behind-social-distancing-20200324.html
[6] Coldewey D. What is contact tracing? TechCrunch. 2020. Available from:
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/18/what-is-contract-tracing/
[7] O'Neill PH, Ryan-Mosley T, Johnson B. A flood of coronavirus apps are tracking us. Now it's time to keep track of them. MIT Technology Review. 2020 May 7. Available from:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/07/1000961/launching-mittr-covid-tracing-tracker/
[8] Reuters. COVID-19 contact tracing apps: Here is how different countries are taking different approaches- Technology News, Firstpost. Tech2. 2020. Available from:
https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/covid-19-contact-tracing-apps-here-is-how-different-countries-are-taking-different-approaches-8369731.html
[9] Lopez GHJ. How We Can Use Social Media To Predict COVID Contact Tracing. Becoming Human. 2020 Mar27. Available from:
https://becominghuman.ai/how-we-can-use-social-media-to-predict-covid-contact-tracing-88ea86bd5f53
[10] Hui M. Singapore wants all its citizens to download contact tracing apps to fight the coronavirus. Quartz. 2020. Available from:
https://qz.com/1842200/singapore-wants-everyone-to-download-covid-19-contact-tracing-apps/
[11] Sookman BB. COVID-19 and privacy: artificial intelligence and contact tracing in combatting the pandemic. 2020. Available from:
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=0d657003-bccc-44c1-8bb9-351ab28b3d04
[12] Chowdhury H, Field M, Murphy M. NHS track and trace app: how will it work and when can you download it? . The Daily Telegraph. 2020. Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/06/13/nhs-app-trace-track-coronavirus-download/
[13] Schmid F. Swiss tracing app goes on trial. ETH Zurich. 2020. Available from:
https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2020/05/swiss-covid-app.html
[14] Winer S. Health Ministry launches phone app to help prevent spread of coronavirus. The Times of Israel. 2020Mar23. Available from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/health-ministry-launches-phone-app-to-help-prevent-spread-of-coronavirus/
[15] HaMagen - The Ministry of Health App for Fighting the Spread of Coronavirus. gov.il. Available from: https://govextra.gov.il/ministry-of-health/hamagen-app/download-en/
[16] Mozur P, Zhong R, Krolik A. In Coronavirus Fight, China Gives Citizens a Color Code, With Red Flags. The New York Times. 2020Mar1. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/business/china-coronavirus-surveillance.html
[17] Garg S, Bhatnagar N, Gangadharan N. A Case for Participatory Disease Surveillance of the COVID-19 Pandemic in India. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. 2020;6:e18795.
[18] How to use Aarogya Setu app and find out if you have coronavirus symptoms. The Economic Times. 2020Apr15. Available from: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/how-to-use-aarogya-setu-app-and-find-out-if-you-have-covid-19-symptoms/articleshow/75023152.cms
[19] Patra I. Aarogya Setu app is now open source: what does it mean? The Hindu. 2020May27. Available from: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/aarogya-setu-app-is-now-open-source-what-does-it-mean/article31689459.ece#:~:text=Aarogya%20Setu%2C%20India's%20coronavirus%20
[20] Millman R. CCTV Software: a General Guide for Security Professionals. IFSEC Global | Security and Fire News and Resources. 2017. Available from: https://www.ifsecglobal.com/video-surveillance/cctv-software-a-general-guide-for-security-professionals/
[21] Guttman A. This Startup Is Using AI To Trace COVID-19 Patient Contacts At Risk. Forbes. 2020Mar31. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyguttman/2020/03/31/this-startup-is-using-ai-to-trace-covid-19-patient-contacts-at-risk/#6b57caba44ab
[22] Weiss E. Traces AI Introduces an Alternative to Face-Based Surveillance. Mobile ID World. 2019. Available from: https://mobileidworld.com/traces-ai-introduces-alternative-face-based-surveillance-081603
[23] COVID-19: SafeEntry digital check-in system deployed to more than 16,000 venues. CNA. 2020. Available from: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-safe-entry-digital-checkin-deployed-16000-venues-12717392
[24] SafeEntry for Business. SafeEntry. Available from: https://www.safeentry.gov.sg/downloads/SafeEntry-for-Business-User-Guide-v1.0.2.1.pdf
[25] National digital check-in system. SafeEntry. Available from:
https://www.safeentry.gov.sg/
[26] National digital check-in system. SafeEntry. Available from:
https://www.safeentry.gov.sg/individual_help
[27] Kumar V. Tackling COVID-19: The Technology behind Contact Tracing. GreatLearning. 2020. Available from: https://www.mygreatlearning.com/blog/covid-contact-tracing/
[28] AIT News Desk. Tracing a Million Steps: SQREEM Launches AI-Driven Contact Tracing and Communications Platform to Fight COVID-19. AiThority. 2020. Available from:
https://www.aithority.com/technology/analytics/tracing-a-million-steps-sqreem-launches-ai-driven-contact-tracing-and-communications-platform-to-fight-covid-19/
[29] DiBiasio J. A.I. shop goes from tracing Covid-19 to virtual banking. DigFin. 2020. Available from: https://www.digfingroup.com/sqreem-covid/
[30] Cho H, Ippolito D, Yu YW. Contact tracing mobile apps for COVID-19: Privacy considerations and related trade-offs. arXiv preprint arXiv:2003.11511. 2020.
[31] Greenman S. How governments can build trust in AI while fighting COVID-19. World Economic Forum. 2020. Available from:https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/governments-must-build-trust-in-ai-to-fight-covid-19-here-s-how-they-can-do-it/
