New disaster management regulations published last week describe how the South African government intends tracing those who have come into contact with people who have tested positive for COVID-19. A strong database is at the heart of government’s virus-combatting efforts, as it is tracking movements of people through their cellphones, notes a GroundUp report.
The director general of health is authorised to ask for information from cellphone networks about the movements of anyone known to have the virus or believed to have been in contact with someone from 5 March until the end of the national disaster. This may only be used for “contact tracing”. A retired judge will be appointed to oversee the enforcement of these regulations to safeguard the right to privacy, notes the report.
Within six weeks after the State of Disaster has lapsed, or terminated, anyone affected will be informed that information was obtained this way. The information on the database will be “de-identified” and can only be used for research purposes.
The regulations state that the national Health Department shall develop and maintain a national database to enable the tracing of persons, known, or reasonably suspected to have contracted the virus. It will contain their full names, ID numbers, residential address, cellphone numbers and the names and details of others with whom they may have been in contact. Government is not planning to eavesdrop on private cellphone conversations, says Minister of Communications, Telecommunications & Postal Services Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, according to City Press.
For those not tested yet, Ndabeni-Abrahams said, the technology would enable government to warn them that: “You have been around this person, therefore please be tested, so that you can stay safe.”
The track-and-trace platform has been developed by fixed-line operator Telkom, together with a group of partners, according to Business Day. Telkom said it has been working with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to develop the system, which takes into account South Africa’s circumstances, which include extreme income inequality, poverty and overcrowding.
The group’s mobile business, Telkom Mobile, will provide the actual mobile location sites that will enhance the ability to build a “heat map of where the virus may probably be spreading to”, says Telkom group CEO Sipho Maseko. The track-and-trace system collates multiple data sources such as geographic information systems to track an infected person’s exposure and those whom they may have unknowingly exposed to the virus. Telkom said this will reduce reliance on the patient’s own recollections and enable the CSIR to contact people who were near the patient.
To effectively track and trace people with the virus or those whom they may have come into contact with, there needs to be co-operation from other operators because not all South Africans use Telkom’s services. However, Business Insider report, cellphone operators said they had not made any such agreement – because it would have been illegal.
“We cannot provide personal information or information that identifies a specific individual without a section 205 subpoena. We can assist governments with high-level aggregated data that can be critical during this global health crisis with due regard to the privacy of our customers,” Vodacom reportedly told Business Insider. Cell C also said it had not been asked to track its users.
[link url="https://www.groundup.org.za/article/covid-19-new-regulations-make-it-easier-trace-contacts-infected-people/"]Full Groundup report[/link]
[link url="https://city-press.news24.com/News/government-wont-eavesdrop-on-you-only-covid-19-people-will-be-monitored-20200402"]Full City Press report[/link]
[link url="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/telecoms-and-technology/2020-04-02-telkom-and-partners-create-track-and-trace-platform-for-covid-19/"]Full Business Day report[/link]
[link url="https://www.businessinsider.co.za/covid-19-cellphone-tracking-rules-in-south-africa-for-contact-tracing-2020-4"]Full Business Insider report[/link]