Covid-19 crisis
Contact tracing in Germany
I read a post by Bill Gates on the corona virus. He is quite knowledgeable about this subject as his foundation had provided financial assistance to deal with viral diseases around the world.
He mentioned many attempts around the world to handle contact tracing. Most of these attempts faced difficulties.
He said that the approach used in Germany has the most promise. He thinks that most countries will try this approach.
His full post can be read here. This is what he wrote about the German approach towards contact tracing.
I think most countries will use the approach that Germany is using, which requires interviewing everyone who tests positive and using a database to make sure there is follow-up with all the contacts. The pattern of infections is studied to see where the risk is highest and policy might need to change.
In Germany, if someone is tested and confirmed positive, the doctor is legally required to inform the local government health office. The doctor must provide all personal data—name, address, phone number—so that the health office can contact the person and ensure they isolate themselves.
Then the local health office begins the process of contact tracing. They interview the infected person, find out how to contact all the people he or she has met in the past couple of weeks, and contact those people to ask them to self-isolate and get a test.
This approach relies on the infected person to report their contacts accurately, and also depends on the ability of the health authorities to follow up with everyone. The normal health service staff can’t possibly do all this work even if the case numbers are fairly low.
I agree with this approach. It combines common sense and the practical use of database technology.
It is easy to build up a database system and update the contacts for each person. The best way for the contacted person to be located is actually by the infected person, as the contact is likely to be someone they are familiar with. If the contacted person has been reached, the database should be updated. The database is also the record for the contacted person to get a test.
If someone else is helping to make the contact, the helper can also update the database.
There is a central record to keep track of the follow up with the contact. This helps to ensure that there is follow up and avoid duplication of work.
This database will also prevent the scams that are now happening, when scammers pretend to be doing contact tracing.
I hope that we are adopting a similar approach in Singapore and that there is a database system to coordinate the work.
Tan Kin Lian
Add Comment