This system will result in zillions of false positives if, as it appears, the breadth of its net is defined by the limits of technology rather than the reality/necessity of the situation.
I'm not sure why you say that. A contacted person is NOT a false positive it is simply a data point to be checked and there is no assumption of contagion one way or the other until the contact has been tested. Zillions of false positives would not be the result of contact tracking rather of
faulty testing methodologies.
And a lot of people will experience unnecessary anxiety as a result.
...and potentially a lot of people will get into treatment early enough to escape the worst ravages of the disease and won't be shopping at Walmart and spreading the disease to potentially hundred of others. Thorough contact tracking and rapid accurate testing could prevent another social and economic shutdown this fall when COVID-19 is believed will resurge.
Given what might be accomplished a day or two of concern seems a miniscule price to pay for the long term benefit of the world around us and should you be tested positive, the potential for personal reward is huge.
And the results will be skewed accordingly.
Agreed, it might skew the course of the pandemic by significantly reducing its effect on the nation and the world.
A follow-up system to track the outcome of all the positives would be useful. I wonder if it's been contemplated?
I am not privy to the thinking in the
White House, Albany, Austin, Bangkok, London, Beijing, Rome, CDC, or WHO but I can't imagine that would not be in their plans. But
that is far outside the realm of Apple/Google's API.
(I struck out the White House because I have not seen any indication of thinking, other than "How can I profit from this pandemic?" going on there.)
