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GAO-20-666SP 1 (2020-07-28)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaebko0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Science, Technology Assessment, GAO and Analytics SCIENCE & TECH SPOTLIGHT: CONTACT TRACING APPS What is it? Contact tracing is a process in which public health officials attempt to limit disease transmission by identifying infected individuals, notifying their contacts-all the people they may have transmitted the disease to-and asking infected individuals and their contacts to quarantine, if appropriate (see fig. 1). For a highly contagious respiratory disease such as COVID-19, a contact could be anyone who has been nearby. Proximity tracing applications (apps) can expedite contact tracing, using smartphones to rapidly identify and notify contacts. Individual not infected Infected, contagious, without symptoms * Infected, contagious, and showing symptoms Measure to reduce transmission, such as quarantine Source: Marcel Salathe and Nicky Case. I GAO-20-666SP Figre ,A simplified depiction of disease transmission. Through contact tracing, an infected individual's contacts are notified and may be asked to quarantine. (In reality, some contacts may not become infected, and some of those infected may not show symptoms.) How does it work? In traditional contact tracing, public health officials begin by identifying an infected individual. They then interview the individual to identify recent contacts, ask the individual and their contacts to take containment measures, if appropriate (e.g., a 14-day quarantine for COVID-19), and coordinate any needed care and testing. Proximity tracing apps may accelerate the process by replacing the time-consuming interviews needed to identify contacts. Apps may also identify more contacts than interviews, which rely on interviewees' recall and on their being acquainted with their contacts. Public health authorities provide the apps, often using systems developed by companies or research groups. Users voluntarily download the app for their country or region and opt in to contact tracing. In the U.S., state or local public health authorities would likely implement proximity tracing apps. Proximity tracing apps detect contacts using Bluetooth, GPS, or a combination of both. Bluetooth-based apps rely on anonymous codes shared between smartphones during close encounters. These codes contain no information about location or user identity, helping safeguard privacy. The apps allow public health authorities to set a minimum time and distance threshold for someone to count as a contact. Contact tracing can be centralized or decentralized. With a centralized approach, contacts identified by the app are often saved to a government server, and an official notifies contacts of possible exposure. For a decentralized approach, contact data are typically stored on the user's device at first. When a user voluntarily reports infection, the user's codes are uploaded to a database that other app users' phones search. Users who have encountered the infected person then receive notifications through the app (see fig. 2). 915 PNONVE C/4ECK< THIE DR&598SE FOR CODES OF THOSE WHO THE APPALERTS TO HAVE T EST3D POS P Source: GAO analysis of literature related to various proximity tracing apps. I GAO-20-666SP Fgure 2. Bluetooth-based proximity tracing apps exchange information, notify contacts exposed to an infected person, and provide follow-up information. GAO-20-666SP Contact Tracing Apps

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