Digital contact tracing for pandemic response: Ethics and governance guidance

Abstract

Public health professionals around the world are working tirelessly to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic using tried-and-tested public health methods for infectious disease surveillance and control. These traditional methods are essential to the global COVID-19 response. To complement these actions and potentially augment the speed and efficacy of the public health workforce, digital technologies are being harnessed. Given the scale of the pandemic, significant efforts are being undertaken to develop and leverage public-facing and health-system-supportive technology solutions, including smartphone apps and other digital tools, that may aid public health surveillance and contact tracing.