Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries are on high alert and seeking solutions to fight the virus. In recent weeks, the country that has been in the spotlight in the fight, as well as raising questions about the privacy of its population, is South Korea.
Among the actions taken in the country to contain the virus, the simple initial measure of closing schools back in February already helped to reduce its spread through children. Because, although children are mostly asymptomatic, they can still bring the virus home and infect other people they live with.
One of the main measures was mass testing, aiming to test as many people as possible. This measure seems far from being implemented in Brazil, as the executive secretary at the Ministry of Health, João Gabbardo dos Reis, has already stated that "out of every 100 patients with coronavirus, we manage to identify 14. In other words, 86% of people who have it are not identified."
Technology in action.
The measure that has been most questioned is the use of an app. Designed to monitor visitors from high-risk areas, it has been used by the government to manage the quarantine of more than 30.000 people spread across the country.
“There are two principles that we consider fundamental [in government action]. The first is that openness and transparency should prevail in [citizen] participation. The second is to employ creative resources and cutting-edge technology to develop the most effective response methods.” Kim Gang-lip, Vice Minister of Health
The app was developed by the Ministry of Interior and Public Security. It allows people to give daily updates on their health status to health workers without having to leave their homes. It also includes the patient's credit card information and facial recognition in public spaces, using security cameras.
It is also possible, through the GPS location system, to ensure that people are not violating quarantine. When they do, an alert is sent both to the person and to health officials. With a high-quality public health system available to all citizens of the country, in cases where a person tests positive for the virus, they are sent by ambulance to a hospital.
Patient 31.
The government's objective in using this app is to monitor citizens and prevent situations like that of Patient 31. The 61-year-old woman, despite presenting symptoms of COVID-19, refused to take the test and continued her daily routine. Her activities included attending services at the Shincheonji Church.
The result was the infection of numerous people, leading the city of Daegu to have the highest number of coronavirus cases, according to data from the Korean Center for Infectious Diseases (KCDC). Almost 70% of the virus cases could be traced back to the patient who ignored medical orders at the church.
Opinions are divided.
Because the app allows users to gather all the recent information about a person with the virus and notify anyone that person has been in contact with in the previous days, citizens' opinions are divided.
While the app has been receiving praise, the issue of citizen privacy has also come into focus. Although the published data does not contain names or addresses, in many cases this information has been easily discovered.
Some regions are informed in real time about the health status of their neighbors. It is also possible to obtain information about places they have been. This has led to accusations of overexposure of those infected and of entities, such as restaurants, whose names have been exposed and who have ended up losing customers.
South Korea, however, makes use of its legislation that allows the government broad access to personal data. This includes images from video surveillance systems, GPS data from cars and cell phones, and credit card transactions of people confirmed to have COVID-19. Unfortunately, this has not been enough to prevent the country from registering cases of harassment and online attacks against people infected or suspected of being infected.
