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The number of infections in Switzerland has dropped to around 100 cases per day. Now the federal government wants the cantons to start looking for contacts again. At the beginning of the pandemic, it was possible to trace each case of corona. This should become common again: first with a specific survey of those infected, in a second step with the help of an application. These measures are intended to identify people who have had closer contact with infected people.
Graubünden also participates. It has to, because this contact tracking is mandatory for all cantons under the Epidemic Law. If a person tested positive, the doctor would first ask for contacts, says cantonal doctor Marina Jamnicki. As defined by the federal government, people from the same household or close contacts are primarily at risk. People who meet these conditions would have to isolate themselves for ten days. The declared objective: to break the chain of contagion.
Because contact tracing is very complex, civil protection officers must support the Graubünden Health Office. At least for now, because the federal contact tracking app will be used soon. Jamnicki is eager for that. Graubünden has registered as a pilot canton, she says. The first tests are scheduled for early May. The app will launch for all of Switzerland in mid-May.
According to the cantonal doctor, this technical solution can be a success factor in containing the virus. “The application helps identify random and, above all, unknown contacts,” she says. She emphasizes that everything is based on voluntariness and personal responsibility. The installation of the application is voluntary. And even if you have installed the application and receive a message about a possible contact with an infected person, you can inform the authorities and go into quarantine.
This is how the contact tracking app should work
Marcel Salathé, head of the federal government’s “digital epidemiology” expert group, explained the contact-tracking application to the media gathered on Friday. This is how it should work: if someone has reported being ill, they will receive a code that they can load through the application. Those who have also installed the application and have had contact with an infected person will be informed. Salathé emphasizes: No personal data would be collected and locations would not be recorded. All data will be stored in a decentralized way. Furthermore, the data would be regularly deleted. And you can also completely remove the app from your phone.
In practice, the question generally arises as to whether a quarantine should be ordered or only recommended in a crown case. According to Jamnicki, a legal decision, that is, an official order from the health authorities, is out of the question in the canton of Graubünden. Said order would have to be delivered personally to each individual and monitor compliance. “The question arises here if we want that as a health and people department. I think people can meet such a requirement even without a legal document. ” (yes)
