System to Monitor Asymptomatic Patients Helps Slow the Spread of COVID-19
The novel SARS coronavirus has been present the world for over a year now, and the ensuing pandemic has wreaked havoc on people’s mental and physical health. Not to mention, it has had a significant adverse effect on the world’s economy.
Scientists and researchers from around the world are working diligently to discover new ways to help patients who have been infected and to slow the spread of the deadly, contagious virus. This sometimes comes in the form of new drugs or treatments for infected people, but can also take the form of scope of practice changes informed by the WHO guidelines for COVID-19 safety and hygiene. These changes include recommendations on mask wearing, social distancing, and contact tracing.
The challenge of stopping the spread is especially difficult as many individuals who are exposed to the virus do not show the symptoms of COVID-19 and risk exposing non-infected individuals.
Researchers are now using geographic information systems and information technology systems to find ways to monitor the movement of infected individuals and to track the spread of the disease. Effective tracking of infected individuals and those they come in contact with can help efficiently tackle problems arising due to exposure to COVID-19.
A team of researchers based in Hong Kong have devised a system to track asymptomatic individuals through the use of anonymous transit smart cards and terminals. The proposed system is connected to a central database of infected individuals maintained by the medical authorities. The location and movement of individuals is tracked through the existing system, and it issues an alert in case they check in at a location where others who have been exposed are visiting. Non-infected individuals are flagged as asymptomatic carriers if they have been detected at a location where infected individuals have also been present.
Through a combination of metrics such as gathering size and infection rates, the system calculates an index (called the alert level) by comparing the changes in the number of persons listed as infected individuals and asymptomatic individuals over the previous days. The alert level is designed to give an idea of the severity of the spread of the infection. The alerts issued by the system can be used to issue warnings to non-infected persons about a possible risk of COVID-19 infection in a specific location and also to block the entry of suspected carriers at a terminal.
The system has received recognition as a top solution for tourism destinations from the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the recent Healing for Destinations tourism solutions contest. The system is in use in elderly homes, wet markets, public schools, and restaurants in Hong Kong.
“The spread of COVID-19 is a mathematical problem,” explains Keith Lau, who is one of the principal researchers on the project. “By monitoring asymptomatic individuals and limiting the participation of individuals in large gatherings, we can see a reduction in exponential growth of cases, and this is reflected in our data. Our system makes it easy for local authorities to identify problems during pandemics, like the COVID-19 pandemic, and invest their resources appropriately to minimize impacts on economic trade.”
The team’s research has been published in the first volume of the new journal Coronaviruses, published by Bentham Science Publishers. This journal is the world’s first that is dedicated exclusively to research on coronaviruses.
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