Can iPhones contact-trace COVID-19?
Apple has paved the way for technology over the past ten years, and recently, the company has developed COVID-19 Exposure Logging.
Found in Settings, under Exposure Notifications, every user is given a chance to turn on this notification. When enabled, iPhones can exchange random IDs with other devices using bluetooth. The random IDs collected on your device are stored in an exposure log for 14 days.
The exposure feature then notifies a user if they may have been exposed to COVID-19. Anyone can receive a notification and take the appropriate steps to self-isolate and get medical help if necessary.
“I do not feel like this is going to be helpful and we should stick to medicine and science,” said Emma Carlson, senior. “Therefore we can know exactly if we have this virus.”
Only nine U.S. states are using Apple’s Exposure Notification for contact tracing, including Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wyoming.
“Technology can provide valuable resources like digital contact tracing and enhance our understanding of this deadly virus,” said Dana Nessel, attorney general of Michigan.
“But that tool must be wielded appropriately so it does not infringe upon the privacy of our residents.”
In hopes of preventing consumers from interfering with public health efforts to address the spread of COVID-19, Apple was asked to verify that every app related to contact tracing must be affiliated with a state or federal public health authority.
“We should not be dependent on technology considering my iPhone is not the most reliable, nor should we trust this to believe that COVID-19 is taking place,” said Carlson.
