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Last week, the Finnish infection control authorities launched an application that works with Bluetooth technology. The app that is available in both Finnish and Swedish is called koronavilkku, the crown blinker.
After just three days, 1.6 million Finns had downloaded it.
The application warns about the mobile. The owner passes within a meter or two of another user of the application and remains there for 15 minutes. If one of the people later tests positive for COVID-19, they will receive a code from the authorities that can be entered into the app, which then sends an anonymous message to everyone close to the infected person in the last two weeks.
– This means that those who receive the message can also go and test themselves. And the app doesn’t handle personal information, which makes it secure, says Markku Tervahauta.
The application draws for each phone an identification code that does not contain information about the person who has the phone or about the phone itself. The app also does not save names, dates of birth or contact information and does not collect location information.
– I think you in Sweden should consider doing something similar. We believe that the application will be another good means to keep the epidemic under control.
What do you think will happen to the crown situation in Finland this fall?
– I wish I could answer that thing, I would like to know. But we continue to work with various restrictions and efforts to keep the situation under control. This is our ongoing plan and it has worked very well so far.
However, one thing has changed since the spring, when the infection increased the most in Europe. The laws that were then in force and that allowed the Finnish government to take measures that applied to the entire country, have now been replaced by local mandates. Laws intended to be used during war.
For some time, the situation has returned to normality and instead decisions can be made locally.
– Now local authorities have the power to act again and can, for example, close schools or meetings locally or in a region. If the health authorities of a city believe they should implement such measures, they can.
– We hope to avoid going back to the laws that were applied at the beginning of the epidemic.
How do you think the restrictions will be to travel from Sweden to Finland in a month? Today, a Swede must be quarantined for two weeks.
– It depends on the infection and how the infection develops in our countries. If Swedish cases continue to decline, travel restrictions may be eased. We’ll see. Discussions on this issue are currently taking place in the EU.
In mid-June, Norway halted its app, Stop Infection, following criticism from the human rights organization Amnesty International, when it collected information that violated personal integrity.
In sweden stopped in mid-May, an application was developed on behalf of the Swedish Civil Contingency Agency, MSB, after receiving harsh criticism from researchers, IT experts and county administrative boards. Even in this case, the criticism focused on how personal data was handled.
Such considerations were not taken into account when South Korea tracked its population. It uses people’s credit cards, information from surveillance cameras, and cell phone tracking.
