Researchers from Oxford University conducted a study that furthers the understanding of coronavirus transmission and supports the development of mobile apps for instant contact tracing during a pandemic. Apps could help significantly slow the rate of transmissions of a virus and allow people to safely emerge from nationwide lockdowns.
A mobile contact tracing app would help the medical community control transmission and apply target interventions when needed. According to the team’s analysis, half of transmissions occur early in infection, before symptoms appear. Traditional tracing methods provide incomplete data and cannot keep up with the speed of a pandemic.
The team’s new app is simple, does not track the user’s location and uses a low energy version of Bluetooth to log memory of all the app users a person has recently interacted with. If a person becomes infected, those who have come into contact with that person are instantly anonymously notified through the app.
Researchers say the app could reduce transmission at any stage of the epidemic until vaccines or treatments are widely available. It could also reduce the serious social, psychological and economic impacts of lockdowns. It would allow people to know if they were infected or have been in contact with someone affected and whether it is safe for them to leave their homes, avoiding a broader resurgence of the virus.
The app strategy could be used by low and middle-income countries early in an epidemic to reduce the epidemic’s overall impact. But the app must be used in conjunction with other social distancing methods, such as only leaving home for essentials.
The study says there are a number of ethical requirements that must be in place for people to trust the app. It should be opt-in and informed by public and user engagement at every stage of implementation.
A paper on this research was published in Science.
