Smart City: Contact Tracing

Contact tracing is a process used to identify people who have encountered someone who has tested positive for an infectious disease. The contacts are then notified of their exposure and advised on what steps to take to prevent the further spread of the disease. It is important because it helps slow the disease's spread by identifying and isolating potentially infected individuals before they can infect others. This is particularly important for highly contagious diseases and rapidly spreading around communities.  

The contact tracing use case is one of SimplyCast’s many use cases that aids smart cities in adopting new technologies and innovative practices. The contact tracing use case provides cities with a seamless system for assisting cities in adopting contact tracing practices without the challenges of a manual approach. To do so, this use case provides a new and innovative approach to completing check-ins for contact tracing purposes; it allows residents to simply check themselves in using their mobile devices when they enter buildings. This is done by having visitors simply use an SMS shortcode message to check in with their information. With this information being easily gathered, contact tracing is easier than ever, and anyone who encounters someone with a contiguous disease will be promptly notified of the exposure from the data they gave.  

Contact tracing is one of the essential tools in the prevention and control of contagious diseases. It identifies those who have come in close contact with individuals infected with a contagious disease. Doing so allows them to take any necessary precautions, such as self-isolating, getting tested, and seeking medical attention if they develop symptoms. This helps to break the transmission rate and contain the disease's spread. By enabling people to be proactive and adhere to practices such as self-isolation and getting tested after being made aware of exposures, cities can reduce the rate of exposed people spreading the disease without awareness.  

The contact tracing use case benefits cities frequently transmitting contagious diseases. Enabling city businesses to follow public health protocols for contact tracing allows them to carry out their essential duties without interruption, while visitors can complete the process effortlessly. This not only ensures the safety of everyone involved but also enhances accessibility for staff and residents by making the entire process digital and accessible through the patrons' mobile devices.  Additionally, it helps ensure all businesses comply with contact tracing regulations when necessary and ultimately helps cities enhance public safety by reducing the spread of disease. Using effective contact tracing methods, anyone who comes in close contact with an infected person can be notified, which can help curb the spread of the disease.  

When a person has been identified as having the disease, public health will gather information on where they have recently been. With that information, anyone in close contact with the individual or the same area will be notified about the exposure and given instructions on how to proceed. Notifying people of exposure is easily done through a quick alert, which will send a message to those exposed in real time.