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| Can Our Phones Stop a Pandemic? | Can Our Phones Stop a Pandemic? |
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| This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays. | This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays. |
| Developing: On Friday, Apple and Google said they were building software into smartphones that could tell people if they were in recent contact with someone who was infected with the virus. | Developing: On Friday, Apple and Google said they were building software into smartphones that could tell people if they were in recent contact with someone who was infected with the virus. |
| Some countries are using smartphone location data and other personal information to track coronavirus outbreaks or make sure people are staying home. There’s debate among public health experts in the United States about whether and how to follow their lead. | Some countries are using smartphone location data and other personal information to track coronavirus outbreaks or make sure people are staying home. There’s debate among public health experts in the United States about whether and how to follow their lead. |
| But this isn’t a black-and-white choice between personal liberty and saving lives. Not all citizen surveillance actually works in spotting or stopping illness. Even effective technology requires us to test many more Americans and have health care officials follow up. | But this isn’t a black-and-white choice between personal liberty and saving lives. Not all citizen surveillance actually works in spotting or stopping illness. Even effective technology requires us to test many more Americans and have health care officials follow up. |
| I spoke with my colleagues Natasha Singer and Jennifer Valentino-DeVries about the benefits and limits of snooping to fight this pandemic. Remember to ask two questions about any proposed technology: Does it work? Is it creepy? | I spoke with my colleagues Natasha Singer and Jennifer Valentino-DeVries about the benefits and limits of snooping to fight this pandemic. Remember to ask two questions about any proposed technology: Does it work? Is it creepy? |
| Shira: What are effective projects to use phone data in the pandemic, without invading people’s privacy? | Shira: What are effective projects to use phone data in the pandemic, without invading people’s privacy? |
| Natasha: The government tracking app in Singapore seems like a balanced idea. People can give it access to Bluetooth, and it logs every phone you come into contact with. If you develop the virus, health authorities get a record of your phone data so they can contact owners of the other phones. But people in Singapore will not see that data about others. | Natasha: The government tracking app in Singapore seems like a balanced idea. People can give it access to Bluetooth, and it logs every phone you come into contact with. If you develop the virus, health authorities get a record of your phone data so they can contact owners of the other phones. But people in Singapore will not see that data about others. |
| Health agencies in Singapore and South Korea also have posted information publicly, often in stunning detail, about the routes people took before they tested positive. | Health agencies in Singapore and South Korea also have posted information publicly, often in stunning detail, about the routes people took before they tested positive. |
| Should we even care about privacy in an emergency like this? | Should we even care about privacy in an emergency like this? |
| Natasha: We are talking about pervasive surveillance that could be used as a new means of social control to restrict people’s movements or stigmatize, isolate or exile people later. | Natasha: We are talking about pervasive surveillance that could be used as a new means of social control to restrict people’s movements or stigmatize, isolate or exile people later. |
| During national emergencies, the delicate balance between public safety and personal privacy tends to shift toward government surveillance. But there still need to be limits on data collection and use, and independent oversight. | During national emergencies, the delicate balance between public safety and personal privacy tends to shift toward government surveillance. But there still need to be limits on data collection and use, and independent oversight. |
| OK, grade this idea on the useful and creepy scales: Google and Facebook are providing data to health researchers to track people’s movements. | OK, grade this idea on the useful and creepy scales: Google and Facebook are providing data to health researchers to track people’s movements. |
| Jen: This could be helpful for epidemiologists modeling transmission of the virus, and the effects of social distancing. But it isn’t remotely a magic bullet. | Jen: This could be helpful for epidemiologists modeling transmission of the virus, and the effects of social distancing. But it isn’t remotely a magic bullet. |
| As for creepiness: It’s no worse than Google using the same data to tell you when nearby stores are busy. In this case, information provided to the public is extremely limited. (Here’s an example of Google’s public data.) | As for creepiness: It’s no worse than Google using the same data to tell you when nearby stores are busy. In this case, information provided to the public is extremely limited. (Here’s an example of Google’s public data.) |
| How about public databases of who in our neighborhood has tested positive for coronavirus? | How about public databases of who in our neighborhood has tested positive for coronavirus? |
| Jen: The virus is everywhere. Is it in your neighborhood? Yes! | Jen: The virus is everywhere. Is it in your neighborhood? Yes! |
| If you’re revealing infected people at a granular level, it could be easy to identify them. It seems better to have a system that notifies people who may have been near the patient, but doesn’t tell them where they encountered the person. There are discussions now about how best to do this. | If you’re revealing infected people at a granular level, it could be easy to identify them. It seems better to have a system that notifies people who may have been near the patient, but doesn’t tell them where they encountered the person. There are discussions now about how best to do this. |
| Does this debate over privacy and public health offer any broad lessons about technology in our lives? | Does this debate over privacy and public health offer any broad lessons about technology in our lives? |
| Natasha: To Silicon Valley, everything looks like it can be solved with their prevailing tech — tracking people, predicting their behavior and sorting them into groups to treat them differently. But surveillance can’t solve everything! | Natasha: To Silicon Valley, everything looks like it can be solved with their prevailing tech — tracking people, predicting their behavior and sorting them into groups to treat them differently. But surveillance can’t solve everything! |
| Get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday; please sign up here. | Get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday; please sign up here. |
| Hilda Namm isn’t the typical bat mitzvah girl. Most people are 13 when they celebrate this Jewish rite of passage. Hilda is 94, and escaped with her family from Germany during World War II. | Hilda Namm isn’t the typical bat mitzvah girl. Most people are 13 when they celebrate this Jewish rite of passage. Hilda is 94, and escaped with her family from Germany during World War II. |
| She had been practicing for months to read a portion of the Torah in front of family and the friends she’s made in the decades she’s attended Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael, Calif. | She had been practicing for months to read a portion of the Torah in front of family and the friends she’s made in the decades she’s attended Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael, Calif. |
| Updated June 22, 2020 | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. |
| States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. | States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. |
| If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. | If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. |
| Then the coronavirus interrupted life. Hilda, who had barely used the internet before, moved her bat mitzvah online. | Then the coronavirus interrupted life. Hilda, who had barely used the internet before, moved her bat mitzvah online. |
| Last Saturday, her daughter, Evelyn Namm, went over to Hilda’s house with her laptop. From Hilda’s sofa, the pair hopped on Facebook with 50 or so others. | Last Saturday, her daughter, Evelyn Namm, went over to Hilda’s house with her laptop. From Hilda’s sofa, the pair hopped on Facebook with 50 or so others. |
| Rabbi Stacy Friedman opened with prayers for health care workers, people stocking grocery shelves and others in harm’s way. When the time came for Hilda to read from the Torah, Cantor David Margules streamed a digital image of the pages on his phone, sharing it virtually with everyone gathered. | Rabbi Stacy Friedman opened with prayers for health care workers, people stocking grocery shelves and others in harm’s way. When the time came for Hilda to read from the Torah, Cantor David Margules streamed a digital image of the pages on his phone, sharing it virtually with everyone gathered. |
| When Hilda finished, Cantor Margules asked everyone to wish her well. There was a cascade of people, in tinny murmurs and more distinct voices, shouting, “Mazel tov, Hilda!” into their webcams. I watched from my sofa in New York City, and it made my weekend. | When Hilda finished, Cantor Margules asked everyone to wish her well. There was a cascade of people, in tinny murmurs and more distinct voices, shouting, “Mazel tov, Hilda!” into their webcams. I watched from my sofa in New York City, and it made my weekend. |
| On Wednesday, Hilda and Evelyn got together to celebrate Passover. A friend dropped off food for the two of them. I asked why Hilda wanted to have a bat mitzvah after all these years. “I guess she finally wanted to become a woman,” her daughter joked. “I’ve been a woman all my life,” Hilda shot back. | On Wednesday, Hilda and Evelyn got together to celebrate Passover. A friend dropped off food for the two of them. I asked why Hilda wanted to have a bat mitzvah after all these years. “I guess she finally wanted to become a woman,” her daughter joked. “I’ve been a woman all my life,” Hilda shot back. |
| Coronavirus conspiracy theories take a dark turn: A false idea linking the spread of the coronavirus to 5G wireless technology has spurred more than 100 incidents of arson and harassment in Britain this month, as my colleagues Adam Satariano and Davey Alba report. | Coronavirus conspiracy theories take a dark turn: A false idea linking the spread of the coronavirus to 5G wireless technology has spurred more than 100 incidents of arson and harassment in Britain this month, as my colleagues Adam Satariano and Davey Alba report. |
| “Let robots do the job.” Efforts to keep employees separated to prevent the spread of illness could prompt businesses to speed up projects to automate customer service centers, recycling facilities, grocery stores and other workplaces, Times reporters Michael Corkery and David Gelles write. That could make it harder for people to find jobs when the coronavirus crisis eases. | “Let robots do the job.” Efforts to keep employees separated to prevent the spread of illness could prompt businesses to speed up projects to automate customer service centers, recycling facilities, grocery stores and other workplaces, Times reporters Michael Corkery and David Gelles write. That could make it harder for people to find jobs when the coronavirus crisis eases. |
| Buying grapes feels like winning the lottery. Online grocery shopping is no longer a niche habit in this pandemic, and it’s tough for shoppers to find a delivery window. Bloomberg News writes that people are swapping tips on Reddit about how to land a delivery spot, downloading multiple apps and refreshing order pages in the middle of night. | Buying grapes feels like winning the lottery. Online grocery shopping is no longer a niche habit in this pandemic, and it’s tough for shoppers to find a delivery window. Bloomberg News writes that people are swapping tips on Reddit about how to land a delivery spot, downloading multiple apps and refreshing order pages in the middle of night. |
| The frozen beef is wise: The Wall Street Journal reports on the Twitter account of Steak-umm, the freezer-case steak sandwich company that is dispensing comfort and advice about what coronavirus information to trust. Also, so many great meat puns. | The frozen beef is wise: The Wall Street Journal reports on the Twitter account of Steak-umm, the freezer-case steak sandwich company that is dispensing comfort and advice about what coronavirus information to trust. Also, so many great meat puns. |
| Bagpipe tunes plus Bhangra dancing in the Yukon. An unusual but amazing combo. | Bagpipe tunes plus Bhangra dancing in the Yukon. An unusual but amazing combo. |
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