Page - 268 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE268 during the contagious period, there may even be a public announce- ment directing people on the same bus trip to get tested for the dis- ease. Where an outbreak is small, and a disease is not particularly contagious, contact tracing can be highly effective in containing its spread. Manual contact tracing has proven extremely challenging in the COVID-19 crisis. The disease is highly contagious and spreads rapidly. Many people with COVID-19 are contagious despite being asymptomatic, and even those who develop symptoms may be conta- gious days before symptoms appear. In many jurisdictions, including Canada, there has been insufficient testing, test results may be sub- stantially delayed, and an already strained medical system limits the human resources required for widespread manual contact tracing. The question has become whether data-driven technologies might supplement, or even replace, manual contact tracing. Contact-Tracing Apps Early and rather blunt uses of technology to assist in contact trac- ing relied on cellphone global positioning system (GPS) data to track individuals. In mid-March 2020, for example, Israel announced that it would use cellphone geolocation data to monitor those who tested positive for COVID-19, and would use text messaging to notify those who might have come in contact with them.3 This emergency measure raised constitutional concerns, faced stiff opposition, and was eventu- ally suspended in late April.4 A major trend in contact-tracing apps has been to rely on Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth offers better privacy features for users, focusing on the assessment of proximity between devices rather than a GPS-determined location. Two overarching issues emerged as interest in contact-tracing apps increased. One pits privacy against the need or desire of govern- ment and the public to have data collected via these apps for public health purposes. Because of the different privacy/necessity balances struck by different governments, a second broad issue has been 3. Natasha Lomas, “Israel Passes Emergency Law to Use Mobile Data for COVID-19 Contact Tracing” (18 March 2020), online: TechCrunch <techcrunch.com/2020/03/18/ israel-passes-emergency-law-to-use-mobile-data-for-covid-19-contact-tracing/>. 4. “Coronavirus: Israel Halts Police Phone Tracking Over Privacy Concerns”, BBC News (23 April 2020), online: <www.bbc.com/news/technology-52395886>.