Shutterstock
One of the main ways to combat the novel coronavirus is through technology. As soon as the epidemic was under way, talk of apps that could trace the spread of the disease was widespread. Now, two months since the virus was confirmed to be in the US, tech hubs are progressing with the concept.
Among them is former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Most recently, Bloomberg rose to fame among democratic voters when he ran in the Democratic Primary race. Now, Bloomberg leads a team that is creating apps to track the spread of the virus.
Contact tracing is pivotal in containing a virus when there is no vaccine or cure available.Traditionally, contact tracing involves volunteers interviewing COVID patients to determine who they have had contact with over the past 14 days.
Proposed apps would make this process far more efficient. They work by making users’ phones ping them if they come close to people with confirmed COVID diagnoses. Apps like these would allow medical researchers to keep a close eye on how and where COVID is spreading.
Bloomberg’s initiative partnered with a non-profit called Vital Strategies. The team plans to develop no less than three smartphone apps to help New Yorkers trace the spread of the virus. By tracking the spread of the virus through technology, valuable man hours will be saved.
“When social distancing is relaxed, contact tracing is our best hope for isolating the virus when it appears and keeping it isolated,” the former mayor told reporters. The apps he is overseeing the development of will become the enterprise cloud platform from which the state can orchestrate its reopening.
After all, it could be over a year before a vaccine becomes available. And that’s assuming that researchers are working very quickly. As such, technology is going to be the most likely path out of the woods with the novel coronavirus. Contact tracing, case isolation and aggressive quarantines will be the likely course for the US.
The top priority for nearly every government on Earth right now is COVID containment. Apps like the proposed New York app offer one avenue. Others could include medical treatment for the disease. On Wednesday, the White House’s Dr. Anthony Fauci announced optimism for clinical trials of antiviral drug remdesivir.
Gilead Sciences makes the antiviral drug. In a double blind study it improved recovery rate from COVID from 15 days to 11 days. It’s a promising treatment option. As treatments and contact tracing become widespread, a return to normal life could become a reality.
