With the pandemic having "hit" a large number of countries around the world, European countries are examining which strategies have worked best in dealing with the global pandemic so far, with many of them having adopted, among other things, new digital solutions (apps and tools) to cope with the new conditions brought by the next day of lockdown.
In the Czech Republic, the government imposed early restrictions on movement, including a ban on public events and the closure of schools, restaurants and cultural facilities. This has resulted in a relatively low number of cases and deaths in the country. However, the Czech authorities are now ready to ease restrictions by adopting digital solutions. Specifically, they will implement a digital system called “smart quarantine”.
This system, created by the political initiative COVID19CZ , a group of Czech IT experts, has so far been tested in the southern part of the country, and now the authorities are keen to expand it to the rest of the country. The “smart quarantine” requires the consent of those who want to participate in it. It also creates a map of the movements of those infected with COVID-19. By monitoring the mobile phone data and credit card payments made by those infected with the virus over the past five days, health authorities can identify people who may have come into contact with them. The authorities then contact these people and place them in a three-day quarantine while they wait to be tested to see if they have contracted the virus. Health professionals then ask them questions about whether they visited or met someone, to further determine how the virus might have spread. With all this data, the system creates a memory map that records the movements and location of infected individuals and their contacts, making it easier for authorities to prevent a further spread of COVID-19. The aim of this initiative is also to not quarantine everyone, but only those who are sick or have been exposed to the virus.
According to Czech Deputy Minister of Health Roman Prymula, who is the main coordinator of this project, 150 participants took part in the testing phase of this system. Prymula also noted that the Czech army will also participate in the project, to strengthen the efforts of the health authorities. Michal Vit, a professor at the Metropolitan University of Prague, pointed out that the police are not involved in this process in any way, while the purpose of this system is to contribute to the relaxation of measures and strengthen the country's economy. Regarding data protection, the COVID19CZ team noted that the data collected remains in the system's archive for only six hours at most and is then deleted. The Czech Ministry of Health has also developed a data security system, which will ensure that the entire process does not pose any risks. However, part of the Czech population remains wary of sharing personal and sensitive data, arguing that the government makes it feel like they are participating in a reality show, as Prague-based journalist Julie Mahlerova pointed out to ZDNet.
At the same time, authorities in Poland are adopting other digital solutions. In particular, they are developing a Bluetooth- called “ProteGO,” which will notify users if they have come into contact with someone infected with COVID-19. If a person falls ill, they can change their status in the app anonymously. The app will then notify all users who have come into contact with that person in the past two weeks, highlighting potential risks and advising them on steps to take. According to the Polish Ministry of Digital Governance, the data will be encrypted and stored on the phone for two weeks, but will not be sent anywhere or used to collect data about the users’ location. According to privacy experts, the Polish app promises to meet all privacy policies, noting that many governments are currently developing technologies to monitor their citizens. However, ProteGO is an example of an app that tries to follow privacy policies, being a voluntary open-source app that uses Bluetooth technology and encryption. Finally, Polish authorities published the source code of ProteGO online to receive comments and opinions from IT experts before its release.
