As it seeks to improve its COVID-19 contact tracing and monitoring, the Ministry of Health is exploring the possible use of electronic applications, according to Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony.
During a COVID-19 update, Anthony said assessments are currently being done by the ministry to ascertain whether any of the applications that are available globally could be implemented in Guyana. “So, we’ve been talking to a number of stakeholders about it and we will see whether or not that can be implemented shortly,” he said.
The applications, he explained, would allow the ministry to keep track of persons who are put into self-isolation or self-quarantine and issue alerts to the central monitoring facility should they leave before being permitted to do so.
He further stated that one of the areas in which the response could be improved is in relation to contact tracing, which the ministry is currently taking steps to improve. “…Because mechanical systems of contact tracing are problematic because you literally have to be following people all over the place,” he said, while adding that with the new technologies, there are tools that are available such as applications.
Mobile and web-based applications have been used with success in some countries although issues surrounding privacy concerns and the accuracy of the data have been raised.
Currently, the minister noted, there are teams in every region that are trained to conduct contact tracing. In a number of cases, he said, those teams are unable to get in contact with everyone as persons sometimes forget who they were in contact with or refuse to provide information. “In a lot of cases, we don’t get everybody because people don’t remember. Sometimes they don’t want to give us the information but with the information that we have we still work to see how many of those persons, the positive persons, would have been in contact. With that, we would be able to reach out to them,” he noted.
Further those persons are then asked to self-quarantine and the authorities monitor their condition during that time.
“Some regions, it’s more challenging than others because of the terrain and communication and things like that but even with these challenges we try our best to ensure that we are providing that level of service and providing information to people,” the minister added.
Anthony stressed that the help of the public is necessary as persons who are asked to self-quarantine or self-isolate and are not complying with the COVID-19 guidelines should be reported so that they can be taken into a quarantine or an isolation facility. “If they breach those rules and go out in the public knowing that they are positive, then that is a breach of the laws because people are supposed to follow these rules that we have set up and we will depend very much on the public to report them to us” Dr. Anthony said.
