Thread by @AbraarKaran

Thread
1/ Covid alert NY--> an app that uses bluetooth technology to help notify people if they were exposed within 6 feet to someone who tests positive for #covid19 w/o storing any personal information & without tracking location.

Important effort here
coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-alert-ny

2/ Closing the exposure to quarantine/isolation window is critical to stop spread

Recent report from NC--> specimen collection to contact notification median of *6 days*

A number of cases did not report *any* contacts, & many could not be reached at all
cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/6…

3/ If enough people opt-in to a bluetooth based exposure notification system, we can re-direct resources appropriately, particularly around who to test; also increase *speed*

Exposure notification needs to take time spent/location of exposure into account as well.

4/ Being within 6 feet of someone for a few seconds is very different than minutes/hours; also indoors v. outdoors is also notably different as well.

If the focus is on stopping transmission, quarantining *potential* positives is key.

There will be hiccups for sure... -->

5/ Some of the rtPCR + folks may be recovered/ have high cycle thresholds, and not actually be infectious.

If using rapid antigen tests for screening, false positives will stack up as you scale testing, also meaning you may quarantine some unnecessarily.

6/ And with low prevalence, the positive predictive value of these tests will go down, meaning you need confirmatory rtPCR capacity to keep up with screened "positives".

But, w/ all that said, stopping transmission chains, esp when beginning to surge, needs to be top priority.

7/ I am looking forward to seeing how this program works, but ultimately needs to have buy-in which is why public trust is so critically important.

#covid19
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