How tech has boosted battle against Covid-19

Covid-19 has shaken up life as we know it. Every tool available globally is being deployed to manage it, including the use of sophisticated digital technologies that have proven very useful.

In many parts of the world, data and information technology have been deployed by authorities mainly for contact tracing, which has been vital in slowing down infection.

Geographic Information Systems and Global Positioning Services (have been used to map, identify, capture, store, manipulate, analyse, manage and present spatial or geographic data regarding infected persons, people they may have been in contact with, and areas with high prevalence through the real-time visual display of epidemic data. 

Various countries like China, Poland and Norway have created applications that alert a person if they have been to a hotspot, or if they have been near an infected person.  

In China, chipped bracelets that notify authorities when a subject leaves their house or designated area have been used to ensure quarantine and isolation are effective and cheap since the person stays in their own house. Furthermore, drones are being used for surveillance and for quick delivery of drugs, testing kits and even food.

In March, an Israeli company unveiled an application dubbed ‘Homagen’ that is supposed to tell whether one is likely infected based on his or her voice and breathing patterns and intensity.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms or machine learning are being deployed to determine whether one’s behaviour suggests that they may be infected. For instance, a person’s recent purchases, online searches or location visits can be used to deduce if that person could have the novel coronavirus.

For instance, if a person has recently purchased or ordered cough, flu and fever medicine, a team of medics may be sent to follow up.

Unbeknown to many, a Canadian AI algorithm named ‘BlueDot’ was able to warn its users about a potential pandemic in Wuhan in December 2019. It did this by scouring all online foreign-language news reports, animal and plant disease networks, and official proclamations.

Integrated CCTV cameras and drones, installed with thermal cameras and facial recognition, are currently being used for scanning temperatures of people in the streets and balconies in a bid to detect, isolate and treat those who have a fever and are probably infected.

In countries with internet penetration, large datasets of people’s information are routinely collected by the state and corporate entities by virtue of call and text messaging data, private and public CCTV footage, financial transaction records, social media activity which often contain personal pictures, internet history, internet search history, places visited, associations, online purchasing and GPS location data.

In times of crisis like the current pandemic, should the government be allowed to access and use this data? Where do we draw the line between individual freedoms and the need to fight a pandemic?

Under many legal regimes, certain rights and freedoms can be limited during emergencies if the limitation is lawful, reasonable and justifiable. The limitation must be clearly written in the law, necessary and proportionate, and pursue a legitimate aim such as national security and public health. If it fails in any of these limbs, it is unconstitutional.

While we’re on the subject, in 2012, Harvard School of Public Health collected and scrutinised data from 15 million mobile phones in Kenya for a year to map out how malaria spreads in the country. Unfortunately, none of the test subjects were aware of this, meaning their legitimate expectation of their right to privacy was being violated.

Many would argue that the state should be able to collect, analyse, process, transfer and store peoples’ personal data in order to use the information gathered to fight Covid-19.

In fact, under the new Data Protection Law, data may be used by the State under specific circumstances, including if it is necessary for national security or the public interest, and for the performance of any task carried out by a public authority. Here, management of Covid-19 qualifies as meeting the public interest.

It will be interesting to see whether or not governments all over the world will stop doing this once Covid-19 is contained.

Mr Kiprono is a constitutional and human rights lawyer. [email protected]