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. 2020 Jun 16;10(6):409. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics10060409

Figure 7.

Figure 7

Digital monitoring tools of COVID-19 spread by online and cellphone applications. (a) General smartphone app-based contact tracing—the social encounters (distance less than 6 feet) of all the users are recorded by the app, using methods such as GPS information, QR code-tracking, and Bluetooth communication. An asymptomatic patient could infect others in their family, commute, or workplace. The patient takes the COVID-19 test (using the app) when individuals show signs of symptoms, such as fever. When the patient tests positive, instant notifications are sent to individuals who could be infected by the virus. Individuals are asked to take the COVID-19 test and self-isolate themselves for 14 days. The places where the patient went before testing positive are also thoroughly disinfected to prevent the spread of the disease; (b) Bluetooth-based contact tracing, as proposed by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, does not require personal information or location to be shared. The app keeps a record of Bluetooth signals it has encountered, along with information about the distance between the devices and duration for which other individuals were nearby. When a user tests positive, the app sends the contact record to the database of anonymized contacts, which then sends exposure notifications to the users who might have been in close contact with the patient. This app works in a privacy-sensitive manner, without revealing user information to other individuals and health authorities; (c) Examples of apps that use surveys to track the symptoms of users to monitor the prevalence of the disease and identify potential hotspots: screenshots from a generic symptom tracking app to show sample survey questions, COVID Symptom Study (by Massachusetts General Hospital, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, King’s College London and Stanford University School of Medicine, working with ZOE—a health science company) and the Healthy Together (by State of Utah, USA); (d) Examples of contact tracing apps: screenshots from a generic contact tracing app to show user interface and official government-developed apps—TraceTogether (Singapore) and COVIDSafe (Australia). These apps use Bluetooth-based contact tracing and provide region-specific healthcare guidelines and information.