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Will contact tracing apps help us get back to normal? – Source fastcompany.com

As the United States looks to slowly return to something resembling life before the coronavirus pandemic, officials and researchers have been considering ways to continue reducing the spread of COVID-19.

One potential tool is what’s known as contact tracing—determining who was in contact with someone who has the virus, and then notifying them that they’ve been exposed. That lets people who might be infected take precautions such as quarantining themselves until they test negative or recover, which can reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Already, health agencies in states including California, Massachusetts, Illinois, and New York have announced plans to deploy potentially unprecedented numbers of human contact tracers. These employees would interview people who have the virus and warn their contacts to isolate themselves and consider medical attention as appropriate.

At the same time, tech companies and researchers have announced plans for automated contact tracing. In a…

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Source : fastcompany.com

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