StaySafe.PH for contact tracing
As an exposure notification application, it is only an aid to contact tracing and it is not meant to replace (contact tracers) completely as contact tracing relies on active case finding on the ground in close collaboration with our local government units
The government-backed mobile application “StaySafe.PH” is only an aid for contact tracing of those who had interaction with COVID-19 patients, the Department of Health (DoH) said Thursday, after a resigned official alleged that it was approved “without any technical vetting.”
In a televised briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the app is not meant to replace actual contact tracing on the ground.
“It provides health tips, including reminders on social distancing and what to do in case you show symptoms. It also aids in contact tracing through the information it collects regarding the location of its users,” Vergeire said.
“However, as an exposure notification application, it is only an aid to contact tracing and it is not meant to replace [contact tracers] completely as contact tracing relies on active case finding on the ground in close collaboration with our local government units,” she added.
Rio also claimed weaknesses in the app’s privacy protocols, but Malacañang has assured the public that the application has employed safeguards against misuse.
Her remarks came after former Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. raised questions on the effectiveness of StaySafe.PH, claiming that the country would not flatten the pandemic curve if it would only rely on the mobile app.
Rio said he had prepared a central platform that would “integrate and operationalize all COVID-19 data being generated by different agencies,” but said his recommendation was snubbed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
StaySafe.PH was developed by Multisys Technologies Corp., a company partly owned by telco giant PLDT Inc.
In the briefing, Vergeire refused to comment to a query on the app’s effectiveness on contact tracing.
Rio also claimed weaknesses in the app’s privacy protocols, but Malacañang has assured the public that the application has employed safeguards against misuse.
According to a resolution from the IATF, the function of StaySafe.PH app will be limited to data collection and all information gathered from users will be stored in the DOH’s epidemiological surveillance information system dubbed as COVIDKAYA.