4 ms·

No, the contact tracing only works as an additional measure, not as a replacement for the quarantine measures. Don’t forget that the airflow provides a major i

No, the contact tracing only works as an additional measure, not as a replacement for the quarantine measures. Don’t forget that the airflow provides a major infection vector, which can’t be traced via Bluetooth or location.

jariel 6y ago
Contract tracing works for the general population, obviously, if you are positive you stay home.
- iso947 6y ago
  Someone doesn’t know they have it. They go to a restaurant. It spreads to a dozen people all over the restaurant due to airflow. How does contact tracing help?
  - jariel 6y ago
    I can hardly believe HN-ers who've been on lockdown for a month haven't dug into how successful countries are dealing with this. 'Contract tracing' and essentially 'contact testing' are the tools that winning countries are using. In Taiwan, they basically abolished Covid, there are so few cases, they have a handle on all of them. More generally Korea, where the disease is 'out there' but more minimally, they use the strategy more agressively. Yes - it's possible for people who are 'pre-symptomatic' to spread the disease, but we're not sure of those parameters yet, and now symptomatic they are. If people who have any flu or Corona-like symptoms isolate themselves immediately, and then go for a test - this is a good starting point. If they test positive, then the 'contact tracing' can identify other people who need to have precautionary testing or isolation. Korea has been doing this to great effects. Everyone is clamouring on about their 'freedoms' while locked at home - when they could be out and about using a contact tracing strategy as in Korea. The US would have to get down to a smaller number of cases first, but it's absolutely a 'get the economy going' strategy, we know it works because we have the Korean example. Not only do we know it works, it's the only example of a strategy that enables freedom of mobility and relative association while 'living with' the Coronva virus.
    - xenonite 6y ago
      For me, your points do not answer the previous post. For a common discussion ground, it maybe helps to give links to the following articles, which describe the asymptomatic transmission, and the airflow transmission. "Asymptomatic transmission, Achilles’ heel of current strategies to control Covid" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22971691 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22971691 "Covid-19 Superspreader Events in 28 Countries: Critical Patterns and Lessons" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22955779 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22955779
      - jariel 6y ago
        It doesn't matter if we know precisely the details of Covid spread. Obviously that information would help. Irrespective of how Covid spreads - we know for sure that: a) Total lockdown works. b) Contact tracing works. c) If you have 0 cases and you have good borders (like Taiwan), you can keep it out. d) Nothing else works. Option B is our only way to stay alive. Those 'superspreader' references you pointed out will help us refine the terms of 'contact tracing' solution, but probably not abnegate it entirely.

jariel 6y ago

Contract tracing works for the general population, obviously, if you are positive you stay home.

iso947 6y ago
Someone doesn’t know they have it. They go to a restaurant. It spreads to a dozen people all over the restaurant due to airflow. How does contact tracing help?
- jariel 6y ago
  I can hardly believe HN-ers who've been on lockdown for a month haven't dug into how successful countries are dealing with this. 'Contract tracing' and essentially 'contact testing' are the tools that winning countries are using. In Taiwan, they basically abolished Covid, there are so few cases, they have a handle on all of them. More generally Korea, where the disease is 'out there' but more minimally, they use the strategy more agressively. Yes - it's possible for people who are 'pre-symptomatic' to spread the disease, but we're not sure of those parameters yet, and now symptomatic they are. If people who have any flu or Corona-like symptoms isolate themselves immediately, and then go for a test - this is a good starting point. If they test positive, then the 'contact tracing' can identify other people who need to have precautionary testing or isolation. Korea has been doing this to great effects. Everyone is clamouring on about their 'freedoms' while locked at home - when they could be out and about using a contact tracing strategy as in Korea. The US would have to get down to a smaller number of cases first, but it's absolutely a 'get the economy going' strategy, we know it works because we have the Korean example. Not only do we know it works, it's the only example of a strategy that enables freedom of mobility and relative association while 'living with' the Coronva virus.
  - xenonite 6y ago
    For me, your points do not answer the previous post. For a common discussion ground, it maybe helps to give links to the following articles, which describe the asymptomatic transmission, and the airflow transmission. "Asymptomatic transmission, Achilles’ heel of current strategies to control Covid" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22971691 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22971691 "Covid-19 Superspreader Events in 28 Countries: Critical Patterns and Lessons" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22955779 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22955779
    - jariel 6y ago
      It doesn't matter if we know precisely the details of Covid spread. Obviously that information would help. Irrespective of how Covid spreads - we know for sure that: a) Total lockdown works. b) Contact tracing works. c) If you have 0 cases and you have good borders (like Taiwan), you can keep it out. d) Nothing else works. Option B is our only way to stay alive. Those 'superspreader' references you pointed out will help us refine the terms of 'contact tracing' solution, but probably not abnegate it entirely.