Korea leads in managing COVID-19 crisis with info-tech

A thermal camera monitor shows the body temperature of passengers as they wait in line before boarding airplanes at the domestic flight terminal of Gimpo airport in Seoul, April 29. AP-Yonhap

By Kim Yoo-chul

In the midst of an economic lockdown unprecedented in modern times, the question facing governments across the globe is how to effectively restart their engines.

Several policy papers from public health experts provide a roadmap, and countries around the world have begun to announce their own paths, largely based on these policy recommendations.

It's fair to say the key to keeping new COVID-19 infections down as demonstrated in Asia will be identifying new cases quickly before they spread the virus to others. This is a feat made difficult by both the long incubation period and the asymptomatic nature of the novel coronavirus in many patents. This is a labor-intensive process as it requires widespread diagnostic testing.

Simply put, technology can help. The little devices that nearly everyone carries around all day such as mobile phones can do a remarkably thorough job of "contact tracing."

South Korea is leading the way as the government has been able to use data from mobile phones and also credit cards to track down the contacts of virus carriers, according to recent analysis by Bernstein Research, an independent researcher affiliated with AllianceBernstein, a global asset management company.

Lisa Bedell Clive, the lead writer of the 41-page analysis co-authored by nine others, appreciated South Korea's efforts to move forward with "integrated and shared data" and "aggressive testing" initiatives in terms of controlling the virus spread. She is a Wall Street analyst at Bernstein who specializes in the healthcare sector.

"South Korea has maintained some semblance of an economy, but it's been hard work. They've rapidly rolled out broad testing infrastructure and set up significant abilities to trace contacts and share information," the analysis noted. "They've had to impose things that Western populations may not be fully keen on (e.g. fairly invasive monitoring through cell phone location tracking, credit card usage and other technologies."

South Korea, the world's most-wired society, is one of the first few countries to slow the spread of COVID-19. The current death toll from the virus is 254 as of May 5. Confirmed cases in the country peaked in February and have since diminished gradually. The country is actually expanding testing as well as relying on other technology-driven solutions.

More precisely, Seoul announced plans to introduce location-tracking bracelets for people who are self-quarantining but break the quarantine. This comes following reports of people circumventing a government-mandated app downloaded to their phone by leaving the device at home when going out, government officials said. The bracelets would instantly alert health authorities if people tried to cut them off, they added.

The analysis also mentioned China's efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 through collaboration with tech companies such as Tencent and Alibaba. "The Chinese people could apply for a health code from WeChat, Alipay, or from a standalone app on their mobile phones," the report said.

In China, once initial personal data is collected, the apps work in the background to update information and reflect the latest health status of the individual, with three levels ― green, yellow and red. "The QR health code has been very effective for contact tracing purposes."

Double-edged privacy debate

Can contact tracing be done in the United States and Europe based on various successful cases in Asia? The key question is that unlike Asia with highly centralized governments and more civic-oriented societies, the U.S. and Europe put more emphasis on individual liberties and privacy concerns.

On a related note, Apple and Google recently co-announced a rare partnership to build a COVID-19 contact tracing app for mobile phones. The two-phase exposure notification uses Bluetooth technology on mobile devices to aid in contact tracing efforts. The apps will be developed by the relevant health officials and authorities, who will define the way in which the app determines if someone has been exposed to the virus.

But the report said unlike South Korea's experience tackling virus-related issues, a unique wrinkle is Apple and Google's privacy policies are more stringent than what most governments are looking for.

"Recently, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley wrote in a letter to the CEOs of Apple and Google that they should hold themselves responsible for protecting the data collected through their efforts to trace the spread of COVID-19. While regulators seem more accepting of contact tracing apps, communication will be the key to increasing adoption," the analysis stressed.

In the United States, for example, the situation, therefore, is a bit more complicated. Starting with the legal aspect ― the laws governing privacy of medical information (HIPPA) have exceptions when information can be shared without a patient's consent. The analysis said the use of tracking without individual consent has been adopted in smaller countries including South Korea, Taiwan and Israel.

"The powers that the federal and state governments have to collect data and compel individuals who are (likely) infected to obey orders to quarantine strongly suggest that they can use electronic means to do so. The Supreme Court has clearly stated that it is suspicious of the use of big data for contact tracing, but it will balance the privacy cost and public benefit of using such system," the analysis said.