August 20, 2020

Automated and Partly Automated Contact Tracing: A Systematic Review to Inform the Control of COVID-19

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Public Health Policy and Practice

Keywords (Tags): contact tracing, non-pharm interventions, transmission

• A systematic review of 15 studies published from Jan 1 to April 30, 2020 reported no empirical epidemiological evidence regarding the effectiveness of automated contact tracing tools, in contrast to manual contract tracing, for identifying contacts or reducing transmission of respiratory viral infections. Four modelling studies estimated that controlling COVID-19 requires a high population uptake (56%-95%) of automated contact-tracing apps along with other control measures. Concerns regarding privacy and equity should be considered.

Braithwaite et al. (Aug 19, 2020). Automated and Partly Automated Contact Tracing: A Systematic Review to Inform the Control of COVID-19. The Lancet Digital Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(20)30184-9