How the world is using contact tracing technology to fight COVID-19
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:57 am
The coronavirus has already killed more than 280,000 people worldwide and caused a serious economic downturn. Governments are fighting it, including with the help of contact tracing technologies. Read more about how this is happening in different parts of the world in our article.
USA
Compared to the rest of the world, the US lags behind in developing contact tracing apps. There is no official national system, but there are a number of solutions in place at the federal and even municipal levels.
Apple and Google plan to release the first version of their contact tracing system by mid-May. It will allow health authorities to create apps where a person who tests positive for COVID-19 can enter their diagnosis. The system will then use Bluetooth to find out who they have been in contact with and notify those people of possible infection. The second phase, which will roll out in the coming months, involves deeper integration with the iOS and Android operating systems to reduce reliance on separate apps.
In early April, an app previously used by football fans traveling to major leagues began tracking contacts in North and South Dakota. It works anonymously and uses location data to track people’s movements. If someone tests positive for the coronavirus, public health officials can use the travel history to figure out who else needs to be tested and quarantined. When Apple and Google launch their tools, they will be integrated into the app, the North Dakota government website says .
In Utah, the HealthyTogether app uses Bluetooth and location data to track people's movements and who they've come into contact with. HealthyTogether also allows you to enter symptoms and connects you to a testing center if it believes you're at risk.
Nodle, a startup that has developed Bluetooth apps in the past, is building a solution similar to Apple and Google’s system. It plans to use Bluetooth to track users’ contacts and notify them if they’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus. It’s a global app, but it’s currently being tested in Berkeley, California.
Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state was creating a “trace army” to track COVID-19 cases. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies have committed $10.5 million to the effort.
Asia
China, South Korea, and Singapore have become leaders in cayman islands number data developing contact tracing systems. Authorities in some countries have already had similar solutions, remembering the SARS epidemic that occurred 15 years ago.
South Korean hackers and self-taught programmers began developing contact tracing apps in January, before the country’s outbreak. For example, the website Coronamap.site informed users about the movements of people with coronavirus in places they had visited. The country’s government also developed an app that uses citizens’ location data and monitors whether their smartphones have GPS enabled. As of April 13, about 90% of people in quarantine had installed the app.
Chinese tech giants also stepped in early to help the government contain the pandemic. Alipay and WeChat, the country’s main digital payment channels, were already tracking the consumer activity of hundreds of millions of users. During the outbreak, both companies launched QR code systems that allow authorities to determine which people are at risk and must quarantine, and which can use public places and transport. The government is using the technology extensively to monitor the country’s return to normal life. The system assigns each user one of three colors — green, yellow or red — depending on their location, health status and travel history. Green allows freedom of movement, while yellow and red mean that people must self-quarantine or visit a quarantine center.
Singapore was one of the first to launch a contact tracing app. TraceTogether launched on March 20 and by mid-April had been installed by more than a million of the country’s 5.7 million residents. It uses Bluetooth and the data is processed on smartphones, making it similar to Apple and Google’s solutions.
At the insistence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, more than 50 million people downloaded the Aarogya Setu contact tracing app in just 13 days. It collects a lot of personal data and can use it in various ways, which has drawn criticism from privacy advocates.
USA
Compared to the rest of the world, the US lags behind in developing contact tracing apps. There is no official national system, but there are a number of solutions in place at the federal and even municipal levels.
Apple and Google plan to release the first version of their contact tracing system by mid-May. It will allow health authorities to create apps where a person who tests positive for COVID-19 can enter their diagnosis. The system will then use Bluetooth to find out who they have been in contact with and notify those people of possible infection. The second phase, which will roll out in the coming months, involves deeper integration with the iOS and Android operating systems to reduce reliance on separate apps.
In early April, an app previously used by football fans traveling to major leagues began tracking contacts in North and South Dakota. It works anonymously and uses location data to track people’s movements. If someone tests positive for the coronavirus, public health officials can use the travel history to figure out who else needs to be tested and quarantined. When Apple and Google launch their tools, they will be integrated into the app, the North Dakota government website says .
In Utah, the HealthyTogether app uses Bluetooth and location data to track people's movements and who they've come into contact with. HealthyTogether also allows you to enter symptoms and connects you to a testing center if it believes you're at risk.
Nodle, a startup that has developed Bluetooth apps in the past, is building a solution similar to Apple and Google’s system. It plans to use Bluetooth to track users’ contacts and notify them if they’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus. It’s a global app, but it’s currently being tested in Berkeley, California.
Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state was creating a “trace army” to track COVID-19 cases. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies have committed $10.5 million to the effort.
Asia
China, South Korea, and Singapore have become leaders in cayman islands number data developing contact tracing systems. Authorities in some countries have already had similar solutions, remembering the SARS epidemic that occurred 15 years ago.
South Korean hackers and self-taught programmers began developing contact tracing apps in January, before the country’s outbreak. For example, the website Coronamap.site informed users about the movements of people with coronavirus in places they had visited. The country’s government also developed an app that uses citizens’ location data and monitors whether their smartphones have GPS enabled. As of April 13, about 90% of people in quarantine had installed the app.
Chinese tech giants also stepped in early to help the government contain the pandemic. Alipay and WeChat, the country’s main digital payment channels, were already tracking the consumer activity of hundreds of millions of users. During the outbreak, both companies launched QR code systems that allow authorities to determine which people are at risk and must quarantine, and which can use public places and transport. The government is using the technology extensively to monitor the country’s return to normal life. The system assigns each user one of three colors — green, yellow or red — depending on their location, health status and travel history. Green allows freedom of movement, while yellow and red mean that people must self-quarantine or visit a quarantine center.
Singapore was one of the first to launch a contact tracing app. TraceTogether launched on March 20 and by mid-April had been installed by more than a million of the country’s 5.7 million residents. It uses Bluetooth and the data is processed on smartphones, making it similar to Apple and Google’s solutions.
At the insistence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, more than 50 million people downloaded the Aarogya Setu contact tracing app in just 13 days. It collects a lot of personal data and can use it in various ways, which has drawn criticism from privacy advocates.