US Centres for Disease Control report that minutes should be counted per 24 hours, but UK system only notifies based on consecutive minutes’ exposure
The whole premise of the UK’s ‘test and trace’ system has fallen apart with a change of the way exposure to infected coronavirus sufferers is calculated.
The ‘Serco app’ and the system behind it identify those at risk of infection based on the assumption that fifteen minutes’ unbroken exposure is needed for a significant likelihood of transmission. However, the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) have just issued new guidance that massively expands the number of people at risk – and makes the entire basis of the UK system inadequate.
The CDC have now said that fifteen minutes’ exposure over a 24-hour period within six feet of an infected person is enough for the infection to have a high chance of spreading. On this scientific basis, the UK app therefore missing a potentially huge number of people likely to be infected and passing the virus to others unaware.
The Tories have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on its privately-run ‘NHS’ app (compared to a few hundred thousand for the far more effective Irish app) – and if they are remotely interested in actually suppressing the virus, it’s now redundant and is unlikely to be able to monitor cumulative contact without a complete rewrite.
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