China launches app to track people with coronavirus

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As the new coronavirus epidemic has crossed the symbolic threshold of 1,000 deaths worldwide, the Chinese government is launching a dedicated mobile application, the news agency reveals. Xinhua in a dispatch published on February 10, 2020. Called "Close contact detector", this tool promises to inform its user of potential contact with a person infected with the coronavirus or suspected of being.

Developed by CETC

The application was developed by China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC). The Chinese state-owned electronics company said the app has received support from several government agencies, including the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the Chinese Railways and the Civil aviation administration. It is precisely on the personal data collected by these authorities that the operation of the application is based.

To make a request, users must scan a QR code on mobile applications such as the Alipay payment platform or WeChat messaging. After registering with a phone number, they must enter their name and national identification number to find out if they have potentially been in "close contact" with an infected person. If this is the case, the user is asked not to leave his health home and to notify the local health authorities.

"Close contact" in three situations

The concept of "close contact" designates, depending on the application, three situations: a person who works in close collaboration, shares a classroom or lives in the same house; medical personnel, family members or others who have been in close contact with patients and their caregivers, and passengers and crew who have been on board an aircraft, train or another form of transportation with an infected person.

Questioned by the BBC, Hong Kong lawyer specializing in new technologies Carolyn Bigg said that "in China and in Asia, data is not seen as something to block but rather as something that can be used with the consent of the data subject if necessary. From the point of view of the Chinese government, it is a useful application for people and it is also a tool that shows that this data can be used for the common good".

A technological arsenal against the coronavirus

Since the beginning of the epidemic, China has deployed a whole technological arsenal to fight against its spread. One of the first technologies to be spotted was drones broadcasting prevention and reminder messages. But these flying machines also serve as giant vaporizers to disinfect the streets with antiseptic products.

We can also cite the system developed by the Chinese giant Baidu, based in Beijing. At the entrance to Qinghe station, passengers are screened by facial recognition technologies and infrared cameras that are used to take the temperature. If the latter exceeds 37.3 ° C, a second check, this time manual, is carried out by the local authorities. According to Baidu, his system can control more than 200 people per minute.

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