Tracking app for coronavirus infections

willow73

Registered User
Apr 27, 2020
17
0
Has anyone got and thoughts on this app,I have no idea when it's going to be introduced for use by the general public,I asked a couple of mum's carers and they were negative about it and said they are not going to bother downloading it.
 
Last edited:

MaNaAk

Registered User
Jun 19, 2016
11,748
0
Essex
I'm concerned that people without internet access will not be able to download this app and these will be the most vulnerable people in society. Also I don't want it to spread a false sense of security.

MaNaAk
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,075
0
Bury
My personal view is that it will be some time an app is released and that it never happen.

Making one that works across most versions of Android and iOS is difficult, other countries are also having problems, I don't think anybody has a sufficiently developed app for the UK to buy.

Also the UK is centralised and all others I know of are decentralised, the UK favour centralised because it collects plenty of statistical, other countries can't do this as they do not have a central health service.

_112180954_apps_contact_tracingv4_640-nc-2x-nc.png
 
Last edited:

Moggymad

Registered User
May 12, 2017
1,314
0
My partner has been taking part in a covid study app by Kings College London linked to NHS. It isn't a track & test app, more a symptom tracker that collects statistical data. The app requires daily input from the user answering certain questions about how you are feeling that day & your social contact & travel. So far no symptoms to report so we don't know how much more info is required once you do start to feel unwell.
 

Lawson58

Registered User
Aug 1, 2014
4,333
0
Victoria, Australia
Australian Govt. introduced a Covid19 app a few weeks ago and about 6million people have downloaded it but we haven't really heard if it has been a worthwhile operation.

It is hard to tell if it has been successful because we have avoided much of community transmission so there's not much cause to locate contacts and clusters of infection have been easy to identify.

There has been some problems apparently with iPhones but Apple are supposed to be trying to fix that.

I have not and will not download the app. as you need to leave the phone unlocked which bothered me as I use my phone to pay and didn't feel comfortable about that.

Also my super suspicious, highly cynical and extremely distrustful nature of governments of all colours prevented me from doing so. Perhaps if Australia had been affected badly by the virus like the UK, I might have felt differently. We have been told that there is legislation to protect our privacy but it only takes another bit of legislation to change things a little and things could sneak under the radar.

But this is merely my opinion and much depends on how the legislation is worded and if it will really help.you all survive this disease.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,075
0
Bury
There has been some problems apparently with iPhones but Apple are supposed to be trying to fix that.

A problem with iOS was (is?) that it auto shut down the app if no handshake was made with another iOS after a certain time interval, bizarrely a handshake with an Android prevented this shutdown.
A problem with Android was that it need at least OS ver 6 to work, don't know if this has been fixed.
To limit the range to 2m Bluetooth has to work at a lower power than any of the standards, it's thought that sometimes this is causing a higher than usual setting to be used causing the battery to flatten quickly.
The initial testing by the army on an RAF base lacked in granularity.
 

Donkeyshere

Registered User
May 25, 2016
530
0
outside UK
I'm concerned that people without internet access will not be able to download this app and these will be the most vulnerable people in society. Also I don't want it to spread a false sense of security.

MaNaAk

Hi @MaNaAk apologies for piggy backing off this but as it's been a while just thought you'd like to know that my hubby is currently in the care home allowed to visit. We in Guernsey have been amazing as a community together and under the brilliant team here not part of uk, we had no new cases for nearly a month and no known active cases. We have had test track and trace since march as soon as we had our first case. So now under supervision and the same person for the next few weeks to visit till we go into our phase 5 different to uk, the hubby can at last see his mum in her room in the care home. I'm in the car park and just blew me a big kiss out the window, I must admit to being a little teary! Anyway hope you are ok and stay safe to all of you in the uk and elsewhere x
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,444
0
Kent
So far no symptoms to report so we don't know how much more info is required once you do start to feel unwell.

One of my acquaintances also uses this app as I`ve been doing too. He had a bit of a cough and wasn`t feeling well so he clicked on the appropriate comment on the app and was pleased with the way everything was handled from then onwards.

He was fine.
 

Lawson58

Registered User
Aug 1, 2014
4,333
0
Victoria, Australia
A problem with iOS was (is?) that it auto shut down the app if no handshake was made with another iOS after a certain time interval, bizarrely a handshake with an Android prevented this shutdown.
A problem with Android was that it need at least OS ver 6 to work, don't know if this has been fixed.
To limit the range to 2m Bluetooth has to work at a lower power than any of the standards, it's thought that sometimes this is causing a higher than usual setting to be used causing the battery to flatten quickly.
The initial testing by the army on an RAF base lacked in granularity.
I don't understand all the techy bits but it was something to do with it continuing to run in the background. There is also the issue of people forgetting to turn it on which many older people don't really understand. My guess is that it is not as effective as govt. would like us to think.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,075
0
Bury
I don't understand all the techy bits but it was something to do with it continuing to run in the background

Correct, unless an iOS phone had found an Android phone with the app running it switched the app off after a short interval, finding an iOS phone running the app did not lock the app on.

Pisa have come up with a good idea, they have opened the tower with a one way system, visitors are given a fob, if two fobs are less than the socially acceptable distance apart both fobs beep and flash. What happens
with groups from same household I don't know, maybe the household concept does not apply.
 

Lawson58

Registered User
Aug 1, 2014
4,333
0
Victoria, Australia
Correct, unless an iOS phone had found an Android phone with the app running it switched the app off after a short interval, finding an iOS phone running the app did not lock the app on.

Pisa have come up with a good idea, they have opened the tower with a one way system, visitors are given a fob, if two fobs are less than the socially acceptable distance apart both fobs beep and flash. What happens
with groups from same household I don't know, maybe the household concept does not apply.
I suspect that diligent community testing might be more effective , at least it would pick up people who are in the first Stages and not symptomatic yet.
 

Jaded'n'faded

Registered User
Jan 23, 2019
5,259
0
High Peak
The success of any system like this also depends on the actions taken by notified contacts.

It seems to me that since last Monday - when people were encouraged to return to work if possible - that people now take the attitude that the lockdown is over and that everything is back to normal. I see people in groups meeting other groups, 'token effort' 3-feet social distancing, less in supermarkets, and a general lack of concern. It's hard to imagine that these people will take any notice of a text saying 'you have been in contact with someone who has now tested positive so you must self isolate at home for 2 weeks.'

Many people are just managing to go back to work, have arranged childcare or got their kids back in school. Are they really going to go back into lockdown willingly? I think not.

And many young people seem not to care at all.
 

willow73

Registered User
Apr 27, 2020
17
0
The success of any system like this also depends on the actions taken by notified contacts.

It seems to me that since last Monday - when people were encouraged to return to work if possible - that people now take the attitude that the lockdown is over and that everything is back to normal. I see people in groups meeting other groups, 'token effort' 3-feet social distancing, less in supermarkets, and a general lack of concern. It's hard to imagine that these people will take any notice of a text saying 'you have been in contact with someone who has now tested positive so you must self isolate at home for 2 weeks.'

Many people are just managing to go back to work, have arranged childcare or got their kids back in school. Are they really going to go back into lockdown willingly? I think not.

And many young people seem not to care at all.
I think you're right I think a lot of people don't see this as a crisis,when some of my mums carers said they wouldn't bother to even download the app,I was surprised and thought they may have even not wanted people to know their movements for instance if they are going to see boyfriends that they are not supposed to be seeing as they live in a different house
 

willow73

Registered User
Apr 27, 2020
17
0
I suspect that diligent community testing might be more effective , at least it would pick up people who are in the first Stages and not symptomatic yet.
I would hope so and I hope it's been well planned and not just a case of employing 25,000 tracers as window dressing to make it look like it's a world class system
 

Lawson58

Registered User
Aug 1, 2014
4,333
0
Victoria, Australia
I would hope so and I hope it's been well planned and not just a case of employing 25,000 tracers as window dressing to make it look like it's a world class system
Community testing does seem to have been working very well here. They always want people who have a sniffle, sore throat etc to go and get tested and if a cluster pops up somewhere they will set up a testing site for that area. It is not blanket community testing but as we haven't had much in the way of community transmission, testing is carried out where it is needed . All local hospitals have testing facilities and some medical surgeries can carry out testing if required.

Successful testing is targeted so that resources are not wasted.
 

willow73

Registered User
Apr 27, 2020
17
0
Community testing does seem to have been working very well here. They always want people who have a sniffle, sore throat etc to go and get tested and if a cluster pops up somewhere they will set up a testing site for that area. It is not blanket community testing but as we haven't had much in the way of community transmission, testing is carried out where it is needed . All local hospitals have testing facilities and some medical surgeries can carry out testing if required.

Successful testing is targeted so that resources are not wasted.
That's good, and on another note,I hope that a vaccination might be avilable at the end of the year
 

Lawson58

Registered User
Aug 1, 2014
4,333
0
Victoria, Australia
Latest update on tracking app for Covid19 here in Australia is that it has had little or no impact on locating contacts of those infected with the virus.

Reasons offered are that the percentage of the population needed for the app to be effective was not achieved, that people haven't updated when needed and don't understand about the requirements for phone to be unlocked.

I honestly think that because we have had such a low community transmission rate that there haven't been the cases there to track. Things might change if there is a second wave but let's hope we won't need to find out.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
138,136
Messages
1,993,268
Members
89,794
Latest member
Tori_75