A survey of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps. (October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Min-Allah, Nasro; Alahmed, Bashayer Abdullah; Albreek, Elaf Mohammed; Alghamdi, Lina Shabab; Alawad, Doaa Abdullah; Alharbi, Abeer Salem; Al-Akkas, Noor; Musleh, Dhiaa; Alrashed, Saleh
• Is Part Of: Computers in biology and medicine. Volume 137(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- Contact tracing -- Application -- Disease spread; Medicine -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Biology -- Data processing -- Periodicals; 610.285
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104787
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0010-4825

Abstract

Abstract: Recently, the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 virus caused a major health crisis by affecting masses around the world. The virus, which is known to be highly contagious, has forced the research community and governments to fight the disease and take prompt actions by applying various strategies to keep the numbers under control. These strategies range from imposing strict social distancing measures, isolating infected cases, and enforcing either a partial or a full lockdown, to mathematical modeling and contact-tracing applications. In this work, we survey the current contact-tracing apps and organize them based on underlying technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, geofencing, and Quick Response (QR) codes. We compare the main features of 22 existing applications and highlight each of the pros and cons associated with these different technologies. Highlights: Contact-tracing applications mainly use QR codes, Wi-Fi, geofencing, Bluetooth, and/or GPS. Wi-Fi–based solutions are fast, but limited by real-world availability of Wi-Fi. Apps based on Bluetooth are precise, making it a widespread contact-tracing solution. For best implementation, a QR-code approach is favored due to automatic scanning.