Covid-19 tracking

[Gerard Zwaan]

There is a strong push for COVID-19 "contact tracing" app's such that the Apple-Google framework adopted by Switzerland today. Is there any advice that the zeta may have or is the potential still in the hands of man?  Zeta Talk has been a trusted source of information regarding this Covid-19 outbreak. But this is a concern with no shortage of opportunists with "tracking intent" in a migrate or those having migrated, or people making split second decisions of safe location or other hoping to protect other group members? Could this also be a broader app for say loss of grid following New Madrid. Cell phone service continues to degrade but will likely have spotty service going into the last weeks. [and from another] https://www.engadget.com/switzerland-swisscovid-coronavirus-contact... SwissCovid will use Bluetooth to exchange keys between phones. If a user tests positive for SARS-CoV-2, they can inform the app, which will alert other users if they were in close proximity (less than two meters) to the infected person for a prolonged period (more than 15 minutes). Employees at EPFL, ETH Zurich, the Army and select hospitals and government agencies will be the first to test the Swiss app. This pilot phase is expected to last a few weeks. In the meantime, Swiss parliament must revise the law on epidemics in order to allow the app to be launched countrywide in mid-June. [and from another] https://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2020/05/26/... Google, Apple, MUSC partner. The Medical University of South Carolina has signed up to work with Google and Apple on their contact tracing app. The app, which is still in development and currently nameless, will alert people if they have come into contact with someone who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. [and from another] https://www.postandcourier.com/health/covid19/google-apple-and-musc... [and from another] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/05/qatar-covid19-contac... Serious security vulnerabilities in Qatar’s mandatory contact tracing app, uncovered by Amnesty International, must act as a wake-up call for governments rolling-out COVID-19 apps to ensure privacy safeguards are central to the technology.

Given that the Heads of State worldwide are aware of Nibiru’s approach and that it will be undeniable by the start of 2021, they are understandably nervous about likely rioting and demands from their populace. Open borders and having the populace flow from one place to another freely, like water, is at the root of these fears. If only the populace could be forced to restrict their movement, stay at or close to home, and be arrested if they try to escape these bonds. How likely is this to develop from the Covid-19 social distancing tracking devices being developed?

The establishment faces several hurtles. First, the Covid-19 virus will rapidly and dramatically seem to vaporize as the Northern Hemisphere moves into Summer. This has everything to do with the strength of the UV-C rays, as we have detailed, and the rapidly increasing herd immunity. Thus the populace is unlikely to tolerate the imposition of tracing devices. Second, these devices have not yet been proven and are expensive. Third, the populace is highly suspicious of such government control steps. We predict these plans will vaporize as rapidly as the Covid-19 itself.

Source: ZetaTalk Chat Q&A for May 31, 2020

[M. Difato]

TRACE Act Calls for Tracing and Testing “Everyone” for COVID

 https://nerdist.com/article/trace-act-covid-testing-tracing-everyone/

The TRACE Act—or the COVID-19 Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone Act—was recently introduced into Congress by Congressperson Bobby Lee Rush. The Act authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement contact tracing and testing programs as it deems fit. The bill would also allow the Centers for Disease Control, acting on behalf of the HHS Secretary, to “trace and monitor the contacts of infected individuals” and “support the quarantine” of said contacts. If passed, it would cost U.S. taxpayers $100 billion for the fiscal year 2020.

 https://twitter.com/RepBobbyRush/status/1259235272719507464

The Act, technically referred to as H.R. 6666, was introduced in the House of Representatives on May 1, and can be found in full in its current form on Congress’ website. According to Rep. Rush, the bill was introduced because “Reopening our economy and getting back to normal will be all but impossible if we do not step up our testing efforts and implement robust and widespread contact tracing.”

The bill’s general aim is to “authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities to conduct diagnostic testing for COVID-19, and related activities such as contact tracing, through mobile health units and, as necessary, at individuals’ residences, and for other purposes.”

The testing and contact tracing programs deemed fit by the HHS Secretary—who is appointed by the President—will be executed by “residents of the area or community where the activities will primarily occur….” In other words, the HHS Secretary would decide which tracing and testing programs need to be funded. These programs would then be executed by local entities.

According to the bill, these local entities would include “Federally qualified health center[s]” such as: school-based health clinics, academic medical centers, institutions of higher education, high schools, and “any other type of entity that is determined by the Secretary to be an eligible entity….”

While the bill does note that the programs implemented by the HHS Secretary will be able to implement “services related to testing and quarantine at [infected individuals’] residences,” Rep. Rush’s office has claimed this does not equate to the ability to forcibly quarantine someone.

 https://twitter.com/RepBobbyRush/status/1260994800913920000

“The bill does not force you or your loved ones to do anything at all,” Rep. Rush’s site notes. It adds, “With that being said, if you or a loved one does has [sic] the coronavirus, it is advised that you do self-quarantine and maintain social distance from others.”

A cursory search hasn’t revealed any statement from current HHS Secretary, Alex Azar, on the TRACE Act, although he has been frequently discussing the necessity of a COVID-19 vaccination on Twitter. Head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did, however, speak recently about the practice of contact tracing.

 https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1270092345887817729

“I am immensely proud to see this bill receive bipartisan support and I hope to see the COVID-19 TRACE Act swiftly adopted by the House as a stand-alone bill or as part of a larger coronavirus response package,” Rep. Rush says on his page. Rep. Rush also claims that “Until we have a vaccine to defeat this dreaded disease, contact tracing in order to understand the full breadth and depth of the spread of this virus is the only way we will be able to get out from under this.”

For those who want to keep track of the progress of the TRACE Act as it works its way through Congress, you can do so here. For more CDC data on COVID-19, including statistics on the disease’s death trends and case trends in the U.S., you can find a full range of official resources here.

Published:  June 17, 2020 

[M. Difato]

Schools Turn to Surveillance Tech to Prevent Covid-19 Spread

Administrators hope tracking beacons will identify where students congregate and who should be isolated if someone contracts the coronavirus.

WHEN STUDENTS RETURN to school in New Albany, Ohio, in August, they’ll be carefully watched as they wander through red-brick buildings and across well-kept lawns—and not only by teachers.

The school district, with five schools and 4,800 students, plans to test a system that would require each student to wear an electronic beacon to track their location to within a few feet throughout the day. It will record where students sit in each classroom, show who they meet and talk to, and reveal how they gather in groups. The hope is such technology could prevent or minimize an outbreak of Covid-19, the deadly respiratory disease at the center of a global pandemic.

Schools and colleges face an incredible challenge come the fall. Across the world, teachers, administrators, and parents are wrestling with how to welcome pupils back into normally bustling classrooms, dining rooms, and dorms, while the threat of the coronavirus remains ever-present.

Many plan to proceed gradually and carefully, while keeping kids spread out as much as possible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for reopening schools recommend staggered schedules that allow for smaller classes, opening windows to provide more air circulation, avoiding sharing books and computers, regular cleaning of buses and classes, and requiring masks and handwashing. Many see some form of distance learning continuing through next year.

A handful also are considering deploying technology to help. “We are very much interested in the automated tracking of students,” says Michael Sawyers, superintendent for New Albany-Plain Schools. He believes that the technology could help the school determine whether social distancing is being observed and help quickly identify students who may have been exposed if someone tests positive for the coronavirus.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers says she isn’t aware of other schools looking to adopt detailed surveillance measures. But the AFT (American Federation of Teachers) has issued guidelines on reopening schools and colleges that warns about vendors potentially using the crisis to expand data-mining practices.

A small but growing surveillance industry has sprung up around Covid already, with firms pitching everything from temperature-tracking infrared cameras and contact tracing apps to wireless beacons and smart cameras to help enforce social distancing at work. “It's been one of the most disturbing parts of this,” says Albert Fox Cahn, founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.

Now, Cahn says, this cottage industry is keen to find a way into classrooms. “One of the things that will be a huge profit driver, potentially, is that younger children would need specially designed devices if they don’t have smartphones,” he says.

Like countless other schools, those in the New Albany-Plain district are considering regular temperature checks as well as strict enforcement of mask wearing and social distancing. The additional tracking technology, to be piloted there in coming weeks through summer school classes, comes from Volan, which sells Bluetooth beacons to some schools as a safety tool. The beacons track where people are and send alerts in emergencies. Volan is one of several companies now hoping to sell its technology as an aid to reopening schools.

Katy Abel, associate commissioner for external affairs and special projects at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, says some state universities in Massachusetts are exploring use of beacons.

RightCrowd, which sells smart Bluetooth badges to companies including Honeywell and Genentech, has developed one system that issues a warning if people get too close and another that can be used for contact tracing. “We have inquiries coming from many industries including higher education and boarding schools,” says the company’s CEO, Peter Hill.

The pandemic transformed daily life across the world, closing virtually all US schools in March. Glitchy Zoom calls have replaced in-person conversations, and students without good access to computers and high-speed internet risk falling behind. Colleges and private schools that charge substantial fees may find it difficult to justify those charges if students continue to learn from their kitchen tables. The discussion is complicated by the fact children do not seem to spread the coronavirus as readily as adults and are typically not as badly afflicted by Covid-19—although some seem to be at greater risk

Published: June 5, 2020

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/schools-surveillance-tech-prevent-covid...