There has been a lot of talk about how contact tracing is the best way to fight the Coronavirus pandemic and we know that it works as well. For those who are not aware of contact tracing, it is basically a method in which if you have been diagnosed with the virus then it traces everyone you have been in contact with and alerts them to go into self-isolation. With this method, you can limit the exposure that you create with people and help in containing the spread of this virus.
However, we have people even during a pandemic fearing about their privacy which is a totally senseless thing to do in my opinion. But it is what it is and governments have had to do something so that privacy gets maintained while giving the facility of contact tracing. For that reason, the Singapore government has now announced that they are releasing a wearable device for contact tracing. This device will let you know accurately if you have come in contact with someone who was later diagnosed with COVID. They have also revealed after public outcry regarding their privacy that the device will have “no internet”.
In addition, the Singapore government says that this device “will not have GPS, internet, or cellular connectivity, so data it collects can only be extracted when it is physically handed over to a health official”. With its change, we believe that the privacy concerns that people had will be solved since there is no connectivity so no chance of leaking data. Also, the health officials will have to make their systems secure so that the data they have collected does not leak too. If that is ensured, we don’t see any problem in using this device while it also serves a really important purpose as well.
