“I’ve been getting these messages maybe six, seven or even 10 times a day,” Cho TW, a university student, told Al Jazeera. INSIDE STORY: How to overcome obstacles to widespread coronavirus testing? (24:45) People get the messages automatically and are not allowed to opt out. Moreover, any person with a smartphone in South Korea – almost the entire population, given that nine out of 10 South Koreans have one – gets location-based emergency messages that alert them when they are near a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. Routes taken by infected patients are published online regularly, while incoming travellers are required to report their symptoms daily on an app that they have to download on arrival at the airport. But South Korea has also turned to technology for help. Swift action and free or affordable mass-testing have been the country’s most effective weapons in countering the virus. Once the largest outbreak outside of China, South Korea has now managed to push the number of cases confirmed each day to around 50. King's College of London investigators (KAL, MNL, TV, MG, CHS, MJC, SO, CJS, TDS) were supported by the Wellcome Trust and EPSRC (WT212904/Z/18/Z, WT203148/Z/16/Z, WT213038/Z/18/Z), the NIHR GSTT/KCL Biomedical Research Centre, MRC/BHF (MR/M016560/1), the NIHR, and the Alzheimer's Society (AS-JF-17-011).Seoul, South Korea – South Korea has earned international plaudits for tracking and containing the coronavirus since reporting its first case back in February. Zoe provided in kind support for all aspects of building, running and supporting the tracking app and service to all users worldwide. ATC is the Stuart and Suzanne Steele MGH Research Scholar. MGH investigators were supported by the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness (MassCPR) and Mark and Lisa Schwartz (ATC, LHN, DAD). The study was conducted by a team led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), King's College London, and Zoe Global Ltd. The team is asking individuals, even those who are feeling well, to download the app and participate in this effort to provide critically valuable information related to COVID-19. "Our app is designed to be entirely voluntary so that they can share information about how they are feeling in a way that safeguards their privacy." Chan also pointed out that the app does not have any contact tracing function in contrast with software that is being rolled out in the future by some states in collaboration with Apple and Google. ![]() ![]() government has acted upon these estimates by providing advanced notice to local health authorities about when to expect a surge of cases." Researchers are also using results from the app to investigate risk factors for infection, as well as the effects of COVID-19 on patients' health.ĭr. "This work has led to the development of accurate models of COVID-19 infection rates in the absence of sufficient population testing," said Dr. Since launch, it has been used by more than 3 million people. on March 24th and became available in the U.S. The COVID Symptom Tracker was launched in the U.K. ![]() The app is designed to provide insights on where the COVID-19 hot spots are and new symptoms to look out for, and it may be useful as a planning tool to inform guidelines around self-isolation, identify regions in need of additional ventilators and expanded hospital capacity, and provide real-time data to prepare for future outbreaks. Chan, MD, PhD, Chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Director of Cancer Epidemiology at the MGH Cancer Center. "The app collects daily information from individuals in the community about whether they feel well, and if not, their specific symptoms and if they have been tested for COVID-19," said senior author Andrew T.
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