Silicon Canals
TRENDING
  • Mobility
  • AI
  • FinTech
  • Software & SaaS
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Ukraine
    • Startups
    • Scaleups
    • Coin Canals
    • FinTech
    • AI and chatbots
    • Travel & Mobility
    • Software & SaaS
    • Health & Medtech
    • (Crowd)funding
    • Blockchain
    • Internet of things
    • Hardware
    • Accelerators
    • E-commerce
    • Cybersecurity
    • Gaming & Virtual Reality
    • Drones
    • COVID-19
  • Features
    • How-to
    • Knowledge & Insights
    • Guest Contributions
  • Partners
    • Amsterdam
    • Rise by Techleap.nl
    • Fintech Files by AWS
    • Scaling-up in Europe
    • Blue Tulip Awards
    • Partner with us
    • Promoted content
  • Jobs
  • About us
    • Partner with us
    • About
    • Team
    • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • Home
  • News
    • Ukraine
    • Startups
    • Scaleups
    • Coin Canals
    • FinTech
    • AI and chatbots
    • Travel & Mobility
    • Software & SaaS
    • Health & Medtech
    • (Crowd)funding
    • Blockchain
    • Internet of things
    • Hardware
    • Accelerators
    • E-commerce
    • Cybersecurity
    • Gaming & Virtual Reality
    • Drones
    • COVID-19
  • Features
    • How-to
    • Knowledge & Insights
    • Guest Contributions
  • Partners
    • Amsterdam
    • Rise by Techleap.nl
    • Fintech Files by AWS
    • Scaling-up in Europe
    • Blue Tulip Awards
    • Partner with us
    • Promoted content
  • Jobs
  • About us
    • Partner with us
    • About
    • Team
    • Newsletter
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Silicon Canals
No Result
View All Result
Guest contribution by Willem Jonker, CEO EIT Digital

The European struggle with COVID-19 contact tracing app continues…

Guest Contributor by Guest Contributor
February 11, 2021
in COVID-19, Guest Contributions, guestblog, Knowledge & Insights
COVID-19

Image credit: Willem Jonker

27
SHARES
LinkedInTwitterWhatsAppFacebook

While COVID-19 vaccination has started, gradual lifting of lockdown measures will still take some time. Even then, close monitoring of local outbreaks will remain an essential tool to avoid larger-scale lockdowns. A cautious approach will be needed to permit again events involving larger crowds.

As a result, outbreak monitoring and contact tracing will remain essential in the foreseeable future.

- Partner content -
EIT Digital
EIT Digital Challenge 2022 is here!
Calling all European deep-tech scaleups for EIT Digital Challenge 2022Show More
Calling all European deep-tech scaleups for EIT Digital Challenge 2022 Show Less
Read more

In the Spring of 2020, we took a closer look at European efforts to better track COVID-19 contagion with the help of smartphone apps. We supported this initiative as a means to attain better and more data on the pandemic but also cautioned the complexity of using such apps and the shortcomings of Europe’s fragmented country-by-country approach. 

Looking at the situation eight months later, we can ascertain that despite occasional progress the struggle continues. It is important, however, that the justifiably high hopes in vaccination do not lead decisionmakers to concentrate – once again –on a single solution for dealing with the pandemic. 

So, the need remains to have a comprehensive system of restrictive measures, vaccination, testing and tracing that allows for a fast and safe recovery of our societies and economies. And indeed, this includes massive testing and contact tracing, the latter requiring automated support.

Lessons learned from the deployment of COVID-19 tracing apps in Europe

To better understand how to improve this integrated approach of restrictive measures, vaccination, testing and tracing, let us revisit what happened with the tracing apps.

Following the example of Asian forerunners like Singapore and South Korea, several European countries like Austria, Iceland, Hungary or Latvia launched and deployed contract tracing apps already in Spring and early Summer 2020. Others followed soon thereafter, leading to a scattered approach to a problem that respects no national borders. Coordination at the European level started only afterwards, with a focus on trying to create interoperability rather than getting to a unified approach.

Centralised vs decentralised 

Two consortia of researchers, dominated by European players, worked in parallel on centralised (PEPP-PT/PEPP) and decentralised (DP-3T) protocols to run the tracing apps. Unfortunately, EU countries could not agree on a single path, which turned out to hinder interoperability at a later stage.

Apple and Google lead the way

At the same time, in the US, in an unprecedented collaboration, the tech giants Apple and Google released in May 2020 a joint framework and protocol specification for contact tracing (GAEN). Given the global dominance of Google Android and Apple iOS operating systems on the mobile phone market, it was inevitable that (almost) all contact tracing apps would eventually build on GAEN from the outset or were reconfigured to be compatible with this protocol.

EU attempts to collaborate

To overcome the fragmentation of EU Member States, the European Commission launched in September an interoperability gateway service, linking national apps across the EU. Unfortunately, however, as of today and almost four months after it became operational, only 11 of the 27 Member States have registered with the service.

The difference in approach at both sides of the Atlantic is exemplary for the broader digital domain: a fragmented Europe with complex decision-making facing US big tech operating fast and in a concerted manner. On the road to digital sovereignty Europe should draw lessons from the struggle with COVID contact tracing apps.

The result: low adaption rates

Contrary to early predictions that up to 85% of potential users would download contact-tracing apps, worldwide download rates have so far been much lower. In Germany, it has been around 21%, in Italy 14%, in France the initial contact tracing app StopCovid reached only 3%, while the new version TousAntiCovid is at 15%. With about 40%, Iceland and early mover Singapore have the highest download rates to date.

And let us not forget that downloading the app is not the same as using it or responding to warnings to self-isolate if the app tells you that you have been in contact with an infected person. In France, for example, it is reported that so far only 14,000 contact notifications have been sent by the system.

Latest research claims that contact tracing apps start to have a protective effect also at lower levels than the often communicated 60%, but experts agree that the effectiveness grows significantly with the deployment rate as can be seen in the figure below.

Chart, box and whisker chartDescription automatically generated

The root causes

There are several reasons why contact tracing apps have not delivered what was expected of them: privacy concerns, Speed of deployment got priority over essential functionality, Inadequate integration in the overall pandemic response approach.

Authorities often failed to ensure that tracing apps were well embedded in existing ecosystems to fight the pandemic. As we stated last Spring, medical experts have to assure that the app is integrated in a meaningful way into the overall virus containment approach. It is, for example, not helpful to have an app, if not enough testing facilities are in place, or if they are not easily accessible.

Automated contact tracing: a lost case?

There is no doubt that COVID-19 vaccines are the main long-term solution to fight this pandemic. However, it will still take some time to reach a critical mass of vaccinations and it is yet unclear to what extent vaccination will protect us against mutations and slow down virus transmission. As a result (local) outbreaks of COVID-19 are expected to take place for quite some time. Finally, we also need to look beyond COVID-19 and prepare for future pandemics.

The role of automated contact tracing

As stated above, contact tracing apps’ uptake in Europe was limited and their use ineffective. However, this should not lead to the conclusion that automated contact tracing has no role in fighting a pandemic. On the contrary, it will have particular relevance during the recovery phase when restrictive measures will gradually be released, and society reopens. 

Consider alternative tracing technologies

Parallel to app developments, we stressed in earlier discussions the importance to think about alternative technologies, one of them being physical tokens. Tokens are a proven technology in the logistics domain and have meanwhile been deployed in Singapore to trace COVID-19 infections. 

Physical tokens only require the minimal functionality for contact tracing which has, for this specific purpose, advantages over smartphone apps. They are small, robust, cheap, and consume little energy. 

Physical tokens are very well suited to support automated contact tracing to reopen schools, workplaces, sport events and concerts :safe, privacy-protecting, easy to use and can be produced at low cost and deployed at any local event and environment, whether a school, workplace, football game, or theatre play; They can easily be acquired by individual organisations, be distributed to everyone entering a premise, and if needed they can even be disposed after a couple of weeks. No download or installation is needed, no connection to personal data possible.

In response to an EIT Digital call to investigate the tracing token technology, 4 activities were started across Europe to test the application of COVID-19 tracing with physical tokens in real-life settings, addressing events and situations that are crucial for opening essential parts of Europe’s economy. EIT Digital partners in the Nordics, Benelux, Italy and the UK created ventures to pilot different token solutions and to commercialize and deploy their products. 

We invite governments and authorities, but also actors from business, sports and cultural sectors across Europe to seriously look into these technologies and consider using tracing tokens for specific targeted use of opening schools, workplaces, or events. At this point, we must consider all options that could benefit a faster and safer return to a thriving economy and an open society.

Author: Prof. Willem Jonker is the CEO of EIT Digital. He has a broad background in ICT, both in the industry as well as in academia. He studied mathematics and computer science at Groningen University, worked at the Delft University of Technology, received his PhD from the University of Utrecht, and is a part-time full professor in computer science at Twente University.

 - Partner content -
How cybersecurity scaleup Intigriti conquered the world?
How cybersecurity scaleup Intigriti conquered the world?
Catch our interview with Paul Down, Head of Sales at Intigriti.
Catch our interview with Paul Down, Head of Sales at Intigriti. Show Less
Read more
Tags: Covid-19european startupGuestpostSharing knowledge
Share2Tweet7SendShare11

Partner content | Work with us

Tokenisation is the future of the financial services industry, and Luxembourg’s Tokeny is at the helm of this change

Copilot for growers: Source.ag’s Rien Kamman explains how it helps growers increase their fresh produce with AI

Waste problem is complex, but Seenons has a solution: CEO and co-founder Joost Kamermans explains the plan

Want to scale your business in Germany and Europe? Here’s how the Scaleup Landing Pad Hamburg can help

Is your deep tech scaleup aiming high? The EIT Digital Challenge 2022 can get you there

Silicon Canals | Jobs


Breaking news from Amsterdam | Partner

Amsterdam and Paris-based Trezy bags €1M, opens European headquarters in the Dutch capital

Amsterdam’s Just Eat Takeaway made progress towards profitability in H1 2022: Report

9 Amsterdam-based startups that are cooling the planet

Amsterdam-based CarbonCancel, a company that helped offset carbon footprint, shuts shop: Know more

Advertisement

  • About Silicon Canals
  • Partner with Silicon Canals
  • Contact us
  • Newsletter
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Cookie Policy (EU)
  • Terms & Conditions Silicon Canals

Silicon Canals 2014-2022 | Website: Bright Idiots

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Ukraine
    • Startups
    • Scaleups
    • Coin Canals
    • FinTech
    • AI and chatbots
    • Travel & Mobility
    • Software & SaaS
    • Health & Medtech
    • (Crowd)funding
    • Blockchain
    • Internet of things
    • Hardware
    • Accelerators
    • E-commerce
    • Cybersecurity
    • Gaming & Virtual Reality
    • Drones
    • COVID-19
  • Features
    • How-to
    • Knowledge & Insights
    • Guest Contributions
  • Partners
    • Amsterdam
    • Rise by Techleap.nl
    • Fintech Files by AWS
    • Scaling-up in Europe
    • Blue Tulip Awards
    • Partner with us
    • Promoted content
  • Jobs
  • About us
    • Partner with us
    • About
    • Team
    • Newsletter
  • Contact

Silicon Canals 2014-2022 | Website: Bright Idiots

Stay updated with the Silicon Canals daily and weekly newsletters.
We promise we won't spam you. You can choose to unsubscribe anytime.
Stay updated with the Silicon Canals daily and weekly newsletters.
We promise we won't spam you. You can choose to unsubscribe anytime.
Silicon Canals
Manage your privacy

To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}
X
X