[LINK] Cheap, popular and it works: Ireland's contact-tracing app success

[jwhit at internode.on.net]

I wonder if anyone actually asked the contact tracing teams how their
process works and what they actually need. 

Somehow I doubt it.
Jan

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Clarke" 
To:
Cc:
Sent:Tue, 21 Jul 2020 13:11:47 +1000
Subject:Re: [LINK] Cheap, popular and it works: Ireland's
contact-tracing app success

 On 21/7/20 12:16 pm, Glen Turner wrote:
 > I'd add that success should be measured by the system's usefulness
to
 > contact tracers.
 > 
 > Conversely, the Apple+Google model places the person holding the
phone
 > as the "user" of the app. I'd argue that this is a US-centric view
not
 > well suited to countries with effective public health agencies.
 > 
 > BTW, I'm not sure that accuracy is an attribute needed for success.
 > Consider that requiring the scanning of a big QR poster upon entry
to a
 > commercial premises isn't that accurate but would be just as as
 > effective for contact tracing as all the Bluetooth messing about.

 The 'accuracy' thing has been critical to the success of manual
 contact-tracing. They haven't extended the catchment too far, and
 consequently they have cred, and people who they nominate as being
 at-risk generally take them seriously.

 A major problem with Bluetooth signal-strength as a proxy for
proximity
 is that the correlation between the two can be petty poor. So, to
 include enough really-at-risk people in your list, you have to open
out
 to include a lot of low-risk people as well. (Leave aside the 6-12
 other problems with the whole 'put your trust in tech' approach).

 The QR-code-at-the-shop-entrance has similar problems, because it too
is
 a poor proxy for proximity. It may have some application in a very
 small shop (extreme case: premises in which most people go to the
 counter and it's the shop-assistant who was the carrier), but even
then
 the time factor can matter.

 We should be drawing on the distilled wisdom of the contact-tracing
 teams, to work out the factors that they consider - and to find out
the
 contexts in which they fear they may have missed some people who,
with
 hindsight, they should have prioritised for isolation and testing.

 -- 
 Roger Clarke mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au
 T: +61 2 6288 6916 http://www.xamax.com.au http://www.rogerclarke.com

 Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd 78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA

 Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law University of N.S.W.
 Visiting Professor in Computer Science Australian National University
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