Abstract
To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries around the globe have adopted digital contact tracing apps. Various technologies exist to trace contacts that are potentially prone to different types of tracing errors. Here, we study the impact of different proximity detection ranges on the effectiveness and efficiency of digital contact tracing apps. Furthermore, we study a usage stop effect induced by a false positive quarantine. Our results reveal that policy makers should adjust digital contact tracing apps to the behavioral characteristics of a society. Based on this, the proximity detection range should at least cover the range of a disease spread, and be much wider in certain cases. The widely used Bluetooth Low Energy protocol may not necessarily be the most effective technology for contact tracing.
Highlights
To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries around the globe have adopted digital contact tracing apps
We report on a spatial simulation with the aim to analyze how different proximity detection range (PDR) implemented in contact tracing (CT) apps might influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic
To analyze how different PDRs of different CT apps might influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic, we simulated several CT solutions for each adoption level
Summary
To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries around the globe have adopted digital contact tracing apps. A widely accepted means to better control the epidemic is the isolation of infectious individuals To do this effectively, researchers and governments around the globe have discussed and subsequently introduced digital contact tracing (CT) apps. While some technologies like RFID detect physical contacts only for small distances, the PDR of Bluetooth Low Energy is up to 10 meters[6], and sites-wide QR codes provide snapshots of which persons were at a certain place at a certain time. Given these different characteristics, research has recently called to assess and optimize the suitability of proximity detection technologies for CT apps[10]. Possible technological realization with personal devices Near field communication protocol[11] Radio-frequency identification techniques[13] Bluetooth class 315 Bluetooth Low Energy (varying statements in literature, around 2 meters[16, 17] to up to 10 meters6) Bluetooth class 215 GPS20
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