In order to test a new contact tracing system Spain is simulating hundreds of false Covid19 cases in a test run on the Canary Island of Gomera.
The simulation is part of Spain’s contact tracing system through which an app sends an alert via smart phone to a user when that person has been in contact with someone who tests positive for Covid19.
“The idea is that approximately 3,000 people download it and we will introduce around 300 simulators, beta testers, to mimic a pandemic among 10% of the population,” a government spokeswoman said.
Privacy concerns abound when it comes to contact tracing apps but governments all over the world are pushing ahead with similar apps.
The French government’s version of a contact tracing app, StopCovid, has been downloaded 1.9 million times and activated by 1.8 million users, it was announced yesterday.
In France’s version, if you are diagnosed with Covid19, your hospital will assigns you a QR code. You can then choose to enter that code in the app to share a list of ID’s of individuals you have come into close contact with over recent weeks. The app then assigns a risk score to the individuals associated with those ID’s. If their score rises above a certain threshold, that user receives a notification. The app will recommend they get tested and follow additional instructions.
The simulation in Spain will run for two weeks after which the government hopes it will be able to roll the app out across the rest of the country.
The Spanish government says the app will use Bluetooth to communicate between devices and that records will be stored locally on users’ smartphones rather a central government server and that the app runs on a standard developed by Apple and Google.
Photo by Pacopac via Wikimedia Commons