Western governments face invidious contact tracing dilemma

That is not to say the NHS couldn’t get there in three or six months time but it’s likely to be a long and painful haul.

Meanwhile, Silicon Valley companies, as well as the UK Government, have so far said they will only support voluntary apps which people actively opt in to and which use relatively anonymous Bluetooth data. 

The approach is decentralised – more of a peer-to-peer warning system than a government-led surveillance network – and the data would remain on smartphones rather than being collected on a central database.

Universal surveillance

In truth, however, from a pure public health perspective, a much more effective approach would be to forget Bluetooth and adopt the more powerful model being used by South Korea, China and Taiwan. 

There, governments are using detailed tracking technology based on geolocation data, or GPS, which provides a highly accurate record of every user’s movements – but is far more invasive in terms of privacy.

These systems are also being applied universally – without citizens being given the right to opt in or out. 

In Taiwan, for example, GPS data is being collected and used to enforce home quarantines. Anyone whose smartphone shows they have been moving around outside of their home more than they are permitted to can be contacted and potentially punished by the police.

In China, the system is more restrictive still.

Authorities there are using Alipay, the payments app, to assign people with a QR code – green, yellow or red depending on their status.

Green means they are in good health and free to move about.

Yellow or red mean they have been in contact with someone who is sick or are sick themselves and must stay quarantined – either in their neighbourhood or at home. 

GPS makes it fairly straightforward for the authorities to administer such a system, although it’s not hard to see how it could be abused in future, perhaps long after coronavirus has been beaten.