Q1
Contact tracing is the process of tracing the spread of a virus by tracking contact between individuals who may have contracted the virus. It can also be referred to as exposure tracing since it seeks to circle out areas and individuals exposed to the virus. Contact tracers are trained individuals who call infected people and help them retrace their steps on where they have been and who they may have put to risk. They also try to determine the source of infection to assess the exposure rate of people in that area. The job requires patience and understanding, as it can be difficult for people to be completely candid with strangers, especially considering the increasing rate of coning in this era. Contact tracing is essential because it tries to determine the root of a virus and then uproot it. After determining affected areas, contact tracers concentrate on them and try as much as possible to contain the virus. It is also a precautionary measure because contact tracers contact people who may have been exposed to the virus and advises them to isolate and get tested. Christine Kumar, a contact tracer with Fraser Health, shares her experience in the job and some of its methods.
Contact tracing would be more effective in a face to face conversation because people feel safe in such discussions over the phone. However, the sole purpose of contact tracing is to control the virus's spread by reducing contact with infected people. It would then be unreasonable to have physical meet-ups between contact tracers and infected people (Culbert, 2020). Although challenging, Kumar says she has learned to maneuver her way into getting patients to trust her and reveal sensitive information over the phone. Since contact tracers require information dating as far back as two weeks, Kumar explains that sometimes people do not remember exact details of their whereabouts. Contact tracers request patients to pull back cheques, bills, pictures, and any other relevant information that may help determine who they were near(Culbert, 2020). The request for personal data with documents is challenging for many because they are uncomfortable with their privacy invasion. Some are reluctant to tell where they were because people may blame the infected individual for getting them sick. To prevent that, contact tracers do not reveal the infected person's identity when warning other people of the probability of exposure.
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Kumar explains that her job is a mixture of detective work and therapy work. Infected people are guilty of the risk they have put their loved ones. The loss of family members and loved ones, coupled with the fear of succumbing to the virus, takes a mental toll on infected patients. Contact tracers need to be listeners without passing any judgment on patients. According to Kumar, the trick to being an efficient contact tracer is creating a safe space where patients can share their fears. Contact tracing goes beyond controlling the spread of the virus; it involves comforting and reassuring patients. Once patients feel safe enough to talk about their emotional turmoil, it is easier for them to reveal information to help contact tracers reduce the risk (Culbert, 2020). Some applications track the exposure and inform users of the risk of infection.
Contact tracing is a lot of work; tracers complete a maximum of two to three cases in a day. Sometimes, they cannot contact patients within 24 hours, when they can easily contain the spread. Due to the slow and demanding process of contact tracing, Toronto is considering abandoning it so that the workforce can concentrate on the confirmed cases (Rieger, 2020). The burden of informing friends and relatives of the risk of infection will then lie on the infected individuals' good faith.
Q2
In conducting a contact trace, I would prefer using phone calls to reach patients instead of applications. Applications are also faulty and unreliable since they depend on users having their phones on them, turning on Bluetooth, alerting other users of their infection, and choosing to download the app in the first place (Beskorovajnov et al., 2020). They may be slow or inaccurate, since they inform users of exposure fifteen minutes after being near infected people. People infected or recovered may also be reluctant to tell other users due to the fear of being spotted and stigmatized (Tavani & Moor., 2001). While applications have had their pros and are cost-effective, they are less efficient than phone conversations with experts who have been trained on what to ask their patients.
As mentioned earlier, contact tracers can also be therapists and listen to their patients' struggles (Beskorovajnov et al., 2020). Addressing one patient after another, as slow as it may turn out to be, is more effective in determining the source and hotbed for the virus, making it easier to contain the virus. Applications can also be invasive on the privacy of the users (Tavani & Moor., 2001). The government may take away the right to consent to the invasion of privacy to protect its citizens.
Although they would have the country's best interests at heart, it will not sit well with citizens aware that fraudsters could misuse their personal information (Tavani & Moor., 2001). While Moor assesses the link between privacy and control, it is essential to note that people's lives are at risk when put into the context of a virus. Although people wish to control information about them that may be embarrassing or confidential, they should be willing to overrule this desire to protect life. Sometimes it is hard to trust the government to protect privacy rights, especially when it comes to phones and social media accounts because they contain delicate information (Tavani & Moor., 2001). We may seem to have direct control over factors of our lives that we deem private, but in truth, we are not, and the government can exercise the power it has over our privacy at any time (Tavani & Moor., 2001). Instead of debating whether or not we should allow privacy invasion, we should understand what is at stake, the loss of lives, and many other effects of the virus. It is easy to demand privacy or information that may save lives when one is not directly affected. In that, people who have not encountered infected people or lost loved ones would not be motivated to compromise their privacy.
Contact tracing is preferred because of its effectiveness and because it is better than doing nothing at all. The coronavirus found many governments and individuals unprepared for such a calamity; it is therefore, commendable when everyone makes even the smallest effort to control the virus's spread. Despite its cons, ranging from inadequate personnel to insufficient funds, the method is very promising in containing the spread of coronavirus.
References
Beskorovajnov, W., Dörre, F., Hartung, G., Koch, A., Müller-Quade, J., & Strufe, T. (2020).
ConTra Corona: Contact Tracing against the Coronavirus by Bridging the Centralized-Decentralized Divide for Stronger Privacy. IACR Cryptol. ePrint Arch., 2020, 505.
Culbert, L. (2020). COVID-19 contact-tracers: 'I feel like I’ve helped decrease the numbers'. Vancouver.
Rieger, S. (2020). Alberta's contact tracing raises red flags as 43% of new cases have no known sources, CBC.
Tavani, H. T., & Moor, J. H. (2001). Privacy protection, control of information, and privacy-enhancing technologies. ACM Sigcas Computers and Society, 31(1), 6-11.
