Big Brother How tech is helping fight virus

Location tracking: GPS data linked to mobile phones has underpinned the bulk of measures introduced. By tracking the location of a confirmed coronavirus patient’s phone, it can draw an incredibly-accurate picture of how it has been spread by that person. It can also be used to alert those that have come in close contact. In use in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China and Russia.

Geo-blocking: Geo-blocking digitally fences someone into their home using GPS data from their mobiles. Authorities are alerted if users leave their designated space or if their mobile dies. It’s among the most-severe initiatives to ensure people comply with their quarantine. In use in Taiwan.

Heat sensors: Some cameras boasting thermal technology can detect if people in public have a fever, a telltale sign of the virus. Chinese surveillance camera company Zhejiang Dahua says it can detect temperatures with its cameras to an accuracy within 0.3C. In use in China.

Photo tracking: Patients in Poland have been told to download an app when sent into quarantine. It will request a reference picture from inside their home. The app requests a photo of the patient in the same spot at random with a 20-minute grace. The app will then check the photo against its location data to prove it is correct.

Bluetooth monitoring: In Singapore a governmentcreated app called Trace Together uses Bluetooth signals to determine if someone has come into proximity with a confirmed case.

Heat maps: Using cell towers, some countries are generating anonymised heat maps based on how many people pass an area at a certain time. The data is being used to determine if social distancing measures are being abided to. Vodafone used anonymised data in Lombardy in Italy to build maps for authorities. O2 is in talks to recreate something similar in the UK. In use in Italy and soon the UK.