Digital technology applications for contact tracing: the new promise for COVID-19 and beyond?

Among the most critical strategies in the fight against the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) is the rapid tracing and notification of potentially infected persons. Several nations have implemented mobile software applications (“apps”) to alert persons exposed to the coronavirus. The expected advantages of this new technology over the traditional method of contact tracing include speed, specificity, and mass reach. Beyond its use for mitigating and containing COVID-19, digital technology can complement or even augment the traditional approach to global health program implementation. However, as with any new system, strong regulatory frameworks are necessary to ensure that individual information is not used for surveillance purposes, and user privacy will be maintained. Having safeguarded this, perhaps the global health community will witness the beginning of a new era of implementing mass health programs through the medium of digital technology.