Smart Health Technologies for COVID-19 Pandemic: Internet of Medical Things perspectives Citation: SM
SM Kadri, Nighat Nazir, Marija Petkovic and Maja Subelj
Published: March 07, 2022
Abstract
Contact tracing is an activity of paramount importance during the work with an individual either symptomatic or asymptomatic diagnosed with the infectious disease of interest. The aim of contact tracing is to identify, provide support for those contacts as well as to prevent further infective dissemination. Contact tracing enables us to adequately identify, voluntary quarantine or self-quarantine and monitor those COVID-19 suspect cases.
A contact is defined as an individual exposed to a case or a case’s environment such that they had an opportunity to acquire the infection. A high-risk subpopulation is a population that has the risk of infection or severe disease.
The incubation period is defined as the interval between the onset of invasion by an infective particle and the first sign/symptom of the infective process. In the case of SARS-CoV-2, the incubation period is on average 4-5 days but may be as long as 14 days.
The infectious period is a time during which a case can transmit a disease to others and starts 2 days before someone develops symptoms.
During an isolation a case needs to be separated from others. During a quarantine a close contact is separated from others to prevent the disease transmission to the susceptible individuals and contact’s activities are restricted for the duration of their incubation period.
Contact tracing is carried out by the adequately educated staff. They should possess a qualitative background, language skills, cultural access to social and medical support for the suspected individuals.
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) efforts aim to ensure a healthy and safe working environment, prevent work-related diseases and promote health. OHS issues may affect the Rapid Response Team (RRT) as well as the incident being investigated. Risk assessment should consider the tasks, the environment, the exposure as well as preventive controls available.
The current coronavirus pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) represents a major public healthcare crisis with epidemiologic models predicting hazardous consequences. The major concern is a high morbidity rate. Contact tracing using of smartphone apps is a powerful approach to control and reduce the lethal outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the use of smartphone technology is limitated due to the potential exposure of sensitive personal information.
Keywords: COVID-19; Contact tracing; Data protection; App