Even as the Government has made downloading of Arogya Setu app mandatory for every citizen, a review published in the journal Lancet Digital Health has said contact tracing apps are unlikely to contain the spread of Covid-19 without proper public health control measures such as physical distancing and closure of indoor spaces.
The systematic review shows that evidence around the effectiveness of automated contact tracing systems is currently very limited.
In fact, points out the review that “automated approaches raise potential privacy and ethics concerns, and also rely on high smartphone ownership, so they may be of very limited value in some countries. Too much reliance on automated contact tracing apps may also increase the risk of Covid-19 for vulnerable and digitally-excluded groups such as older people and people experiencing homelessness.”
The research suggests that large-scale manual contact tracing alongside other public health control measures — such as physical distancing and closure of indoor spaces such as pubs — is likely to be required in conjunction with automated approaches.
The researchers from University College London (UCL) in the UK found 15 relevant studies by reviewing more than 4,000 papers on automated and partially-automated contact tracing.
They analysed these to understand the potential impact these tools could have in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Across a number of modelling studies, we found a consistent picture that although automated contact tracing could support manual contact tracing, the systems will require large-scale uptake by the population and strict adherence to quarantine advice by contacts notified to have a significant impact on reducing transmission,” said lead author Isobel Braithwaite from UCL.
Partially-automated systems may have some automated processes, for instance in determining the duration of follow-up of contacts required, but do not use proximity of smartphones as a proxy for contact with an infected person.
“Although automated contact tracing shows some promise in helping reduce transmission of Covid-19 within communities, our research highlighted the urgent need for further evaluation of these apps within public health practice,” said Braithwaite.
“None of the studies we found provided real-world evidence of their effectiveness, and to improve our understanding of how they could support manual contact tracing systems,” Braithwaite said.
The review shows that, at present, there is insufficient evidence to justify reliance on automated contact tracing approaches without
additional extensive public health control measures.
India’s Arogya Setu App is at the forefront of downloads in terms of download count. It has been made mandatory not only for the government employees to download the app but also at various public places.