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UK is joining a litany of countries around the world by requiring a 14 day quarantine – apparently officials could pay you a visit at the address you’ve registered to make sure you’re not being naughty. This is part of a phase two roll out that the government is unveiling to gradually open the country back up for business. In addition to the quarantine, recent news has indicated that a track and trace app, developed jointly by Google and Apple, is favored by 10 Downing to track and trace those with COVID symptoms.
I’m sure Edward Snowden will be one of the first to sign off on an app that details your health, tracks your every movement, and notifies not only the government of your person to person interactions, but also those persons who could have been infected. No potential privacy concerns at all 😉
Data out of Stanford and USC are estimating that the true number of infected cases in the US may be 25x to 85x the reported number. If this is anywhere near true, how much will the app actually dent the spread of Covid when there are 50 people walking around asymptomatic for every person exhibiting symptoms. That data suggests an insanely high morbidity rate, but significantly lower mortality rate, and thus a faster herd immunity built, and easier curve to flatten. If the app is optional, then caveat emptor, but if it’s not…seems like a lot of privacy to sacrifice.
I’m totally onboard with the 14 day quarantine makes sense, and honestly I’m surprised it’s not already implemented, but I’ve got enough apps on my phone that track my every move. In fact, anonymized data is already big business, and if you do a couple of google searches on anonymized data you’ll find it’s pretty easy to attach a name to said anonymity. Just look at what Tectonix GEO was able to do to the Florida Spring Breakers that gained so much news coverage in March. Impressive and frightening at the same time. Add in health data…no thanks.
Want to see the true potential impact of ignoring social distancing? Through a partnership with @xmodesocial, we analyzed secondary locations of anonymized mobile devices that were active at a single Ft. Lauderdale beach during spring break. This is where they went across the US: pic.twitter.com/3A3ePn9Vin
— Tectonix (@TectonixGEO) March 25, 2020
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