scholarly journals Effectiveness of digital contact tracing for COVID-19 in New South Wales, Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Vogt ◽  
Bridget Haire ◽  
Linda Selvey ◽  
John Kaldor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Positive Predictive Value ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Public Health Staff ◽  
Close Contacts

Background: Digital proximity tracing applications were rolled out early in the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries to complement conventional contact tracing. Empirical evidence about their benefits for pandemic response remains scarce. We evaluated the effectiveness and usefulness of 'COVIDSafe', Australia's national smartphone-based proximity tracing application for COVID-19. Methods: In this prospective study, conducted in New South Wales, Australia between May and November 2020, we calculated the positive predictive value and sensitivity of COVIDSafe, its additional contact yield, and the number of averted public exposure events. Semi-structured interviews with public health staff were conducted to assess the application's usefulness. Results: There were 619 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 25,300 close contacts during the study period. COVIDSafe was used by 137 (22%) cases and detected 79 (0.3%) close contacts. It had a positive predictive value of 39% and a sensitivity of 15%, and detected 17 (0.07%) additional close contacts that were not identified by conventional contact tracing. The application generated a substantial additional workload for public health staff and was not considered useful. Conclusions: COVIDSafe was not sufficiently effective to make a meaningful contribution to the COVID-19 response in Australia's most populous state over a 6-month period. This contrasts optimistic projections from modelling studies about the added value of digitally supported contact tracing. We found no evidence that it adds value to conventional contact tracing, and recommend that their implementation should always include comprehensive effectiveness evaluations.

scholarly journals “No Entry into New South Wales”: COVID-19 and the Historic and Contemporary Trajectories of the Effects of Border Closures on an Australian Cross-Border Community

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 610
Author(s):  
Dirk H. R. Spennemann
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
New South ◽  
Community Integration ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
The State ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Border Community ◽  
South Wales

Given its intensity, rapid spread, geographic reach and multiple waves of infections, the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020/21 became a major global disruptor with a truly cross-sectoral impact, surpassing even the 1918/19 influenza epidemic. Public health measures designed to contain the spread of the disease saw the cessation of international travel as well as the establishment of border closures between and within countries. The social and economic impact was considerable. This paper examines the effects of the public health measures of “ring-fencing” and of prolonged closures of the state border between New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), placing the events of 2020/21 into the context of the historic and contemporary trajectories of the border between the two states. It shows that while border closures as public-health measures had occurred in the past, their social and economic impact had been comparatively negligible due to low cross-border community integration. Concerted efforts since the mid-1970s have led to effective and close integration of employment and services, with over a quarter of the resident population of the two border towns commuting daily across the state lines. As a result, border closures and state-based lockdown directives caused significant social disruption and considerable economic cost to families and the community as a whole. One of the lessons of the 2020/21 pandemic will be to either re-evaluate the wisdom of a close social and economic integration of border communities, which would be a backwards step, or to future-proof these communities by developing strategies, effectively public health management plans, to avoid a repeat when the next pandemic strikes.

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