Using new technologies to battle Covid-19 in Switzerland

Abstract

The spread of Covid-19 in 2020 prompted the question of a virus proximity tracking application developed by the Ecole Polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EFPL) along the lines of decentralised privacy-preserving proximity tracing. This application allows Covid-19 infection chains to be tracked through movement data collected by mobile phones. The application gives an opportunity for a person tested positive for Covid-19 to anonymously activate a notification service. Depending on the date of their first symptoms, all users with the application would be informed if they had recently been in contact with the infected person. This practice should be defined as a form of surveillance.