TraceTogether and SafeEntry were never foolproof in averting recent fishery port and KTV clusters

• Main Author: FINDLAY, Mark
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2021
• Subjects: Covid-19; contact tracing apps; technology; human behavior; hawker centres; karoke lounges; fishery port; wet markets; Singapore; Asian Studies; Health Information Technology; Public Health
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3451; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/5409/viewcontent/TraceTogetherSE_never_foolproof_CNA_20210723.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Don’t blame the technology. COVID-19 control technology depends on the cooperation of people to be fully effective, says SMU Professor Mark Findlay. Singapore has one of the best subscribed COVID-19 tracing, tracking and safe entry apps worldwide. Then how is it that we are back to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert)? It would be tempting but wrong to blame the technology as being insufficiently intrusive or robust. A look at the recent outbreak suggests we should avoid an over-reliance on tech solutions when incompatible human behaviours are at work.