Transcripts For DW Corona Special 20240712

A virus spread. Why do we parent and when will. Introduce through the topics covered and the weekly radio show is called spectrum if you would like any information on the coronavirus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcasts you can also find us at qana slash science. Nearly 10000000 people have downloaded germanys new coronavirus tracing out in just 3 days. Theres still a ways to go Scientists Say that 60 percent of the public needs to use the app for it to be effective and the government says that by end is critical to kind of it from the app can help to warn contacts of a. Infected persons faster than was previously possible and every hour of Early Warning of a threat of infection is a gain in fighting this fire us he says be able. But as governments around the world track the virus can we be sure they also are tracking citizens. Tracing apps can we trust them are they effective. And this is the 1900. It is good to have you with us can a surge of new tracing apps help stop the viruses spread well hear from an expert in just a moment but 1st lets look at some of those apps and how they differ here in china as the Coronavirus Spread the government set out to fight it with the help of a Smartphone App launched in february the alley plea Health Code App was the 1st attempt to slow the transmission rate of covert 19 by tracking infected people digitally using information from their smartphones the app analyzes personal data to assign a color code that either grants users access to or bars them from buses trains and public spaces. South korea launched its own Contact Tracing Program Shortly after china requiring all International Visitors to download a tracing app at the airport but the countrys effort to monitor the virus doesnt rely on this app alone the south Korean Health authority also tracks infected people using surveillance cameras and credit card information. Singapore led the way in creating an app that can monitor the spread of the virus without government surveillance the countrys app trace together uses encrypted anonymous data to alert those who have come in contact with infected people australia has launched its own app based on the trace together protocol. In europe france italy and germany launched coronavirus tracing apps this month prioritizing privacy. The italian and german apps use a decentralized approach they dont store users information on a server but rather on the users phones the french stop kovac app however is centralized it does store data on government run servers but says the data is deleted after 14 days the u. K. Is preparing to launch an app similar to the french model later this month. The European Commission has called for a common tracing technology across the e. U. But so far member countries have been going it alone. Lets take a closer look at france now it released its app at the beginning of this month and as mentioned in that report it relies on centralized data storage and that is giving pause to some potential users for. Download it as soon as it was launched users who test positive. They can enter in the up stop then they use this theyve been in close contact with. New do you appreciate. The app is on a voluntary basis and obviously doesnt replace other measures like face masks. But its one out of several tools that can help protect me and the people i meet. Michelle hasnt tested positive nor has she received an alert there are no official figures on how many alerts have been sent out so far but she still hopes the app will be effective. Me i know that there has been a mix in the past that i never thought id live to experience one it was frightening and very worrying and its too early to say if its over only to keep up our guard. Im told too but only about 2 percent of people in france have downloaded the app so far many are concerned the government might use to track people but michelle says that doesnt bother her shuki we are all using mobile phones and being tracked through relay mouse its its very easy to know where people have been at a certain point in time also through facebook and twitter compaction that stop google is not a threat. We shall hopes more people will use the app and that the cave it 19 epidemic soon becomes a thing of the past im joined now by ralph yons hes the founder of research to guidance thats Consulting Firm for the Digital Health industry in berlin. Its good to have you with us 1st of all another german came out this week and already has 10000000 downloads does that make it a success. Stephanie a very good start. Also compared to other official tracing apps in a lot of other countries so they have to fall much worse than here in germany so its a good start but that see how that further develops we think that maybe 1st movers have nadal and loaded it now becomes a hot part of the game to convince all the other ones the ones who are a bit skeptical you know to also download and install the supplication but its a good start and you know. Now this app works without a centralized data registry should that reassure users about their Data Security its definitely march secure and terms of privacy approach so yes i mean the balancing of bride data privacy and being able to fight the pen demick with the help of a tracing app we think that the betances is being has been reached and we would recommend downloading the optic ation. As we heard earlier there are plenty of other National Apps france italy singapore for example how effective is it going to be when people are traveling across borders and they have their own Countries App but maybe not in other countries yeah yet so i mean thats still a problem and so if you met somebody who was affected in another country and hes using a different app that and your app wouldnt wouldnt know about it so still our country apps are still not talking to each other. That might take a while until those sort of missions are going to be into approachable but for now they conned talk to each other are we seeing any efforts to create a unified at for example maybe in the e. U. Yeah i mean there at the very beginning they have been discussions on the european level to come up with one approach which works. You know old a country but then it turned out that country interests were so different so that each of the countries they decided to go 1st their own way maybe when there will be a 2nd wave or the pend i make takes longer then they will meet again and then find ways to to merge and to let those up occasions talk to each other but not for know. And weve been talking about tracing apps this whole time that there are other Digital Tools that can be used in this pandemic what can you give us an example of. Yes sure i mean there are plenty and the tracing phase is just a very very tiny. Phase it was in the overall spectrum of what is what is available out there so i mean there are hundreds of solutions out there which help to educate the users. About there is of getting effective or being effective that there are lots of 3 yosh solutions out there which help. Patients or users had to find the next testing stations and also. Make appointments you know ways doctors had to do the tests then we have the tracking and tracing. Phase of this whole Pandemic Management and then we come to current time management and during con time management there are also lots of tools which have being made available during the pain demick in a very very quark quick way which allows the patients had 2 minutes theyre basically there their Health Status was being current. Selfimposed or enforced so there are lots of solutions already out there today right rob fiance of research to guidance a Digital Health Consulting Firm thank you very much thank you. And its time now to answer your questions about coven one scene over to our science correspondent derek williams. Does High Altitude affect the transmission of covert 19. Interesting lee guess it seems to when i went looking for information on this i found a recent study comparing infection rates in low lying parts of china and bolivia to mountainous areas and it showed that the higher you go the fewer cases of cove at 19 you find them now a lot of thats probably down to environmental factors of course like like higher u. V. Radiation at altitude and more drastic temperature swings and drier air which could all play a role in hindering replication but the researchers also postulated that a physiological factor could be playing a role people who live in low oxygen environments at High Altitudes have way fewer ace to receptive ears in their heart and lung cells its an adjustment the body makes too to thin air and since those are the receptor the virus uses to invade your body having a lot less of them and those organs might protect you. Can you give us a status update on possible vaccines for coburg 19. The w. H. O. Is keeping a running count of the steadily mounting number of vaccine candidates in the pipeline there are are over 140 of them out there now of of those most are still in whats called the the preclinical stage so it in cell culture or an animal testing but but 13 have moved on to clinical evaluation which means theyre being checked for for safety and if it is see in humans only one has reached phase 3 which is the last stage of the process before approval by the way the speed at which this is go away is really pretty jaw dropping for a vaccine candidate reaching phase 3 after less than 6 months it is unheard of. And its a 4 day w. s covert special for today thanks for watching and if they helping. Big crowds despite the danger of corona fire people who shop at weekly markets and zimbabwe may be risking their lives but there are alternatives. To start of the letters fresh Food Festival right to your door especially. If you save. For. Like. A mongoloid says was before the soul the russian soil as deep as their country. Just. So many different walks of life some choose the road less traveled by some endure the ride but all of them come straight from the heart the russians and intimate journey from perth to death. In 45 minutes on t. W. Oh. Is for me. Is for you. Is for. Is for the. Beethoven is for. Is for. Beethoven 202250th anniversary year on. The digital revolution is transforming our lives from smartphones and apps to new ways all working but what about then barmaids can digitize ation help that we also look at the impact of 19 pandemic as it shuts down much of the world welcomes on the new edition of eco africa im now tag way from lagos