
Apple releases new Covid-19 app and website based on CDC guidance - deepaksurti
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/03/apple-releases-new-covid-19-app-and-website-based-on-CDC-guidance/
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dogma1138
Apple has likely spO2 data as well as heart rate data form millions of Apple
Watch users that can be used to partially diagnose this infection.

The watch is capable of measuring spO2 even if it’s not displaying the
information and even if it’s no 100% accurate drops over a large enough time
period combined with elevated heart rate would indicate a respiratory
infection.

Whilst I agree that the data isn’t useful for most individuals releasing it to
authorities around the world after anonymization would likely be quite
valuable.

I might have had a mild infection don’t know if it was COVID-19 but it was A
respiratory infection for sure.

Myself and my girlfriend were sick she had a fever I barely registered above
normal we had coughs, sore throat I still can’t smell smoked salmon and she
has stomach issues too.

It’s pretty much all gone now but one thing for sure we both had pretty high
resting heart rate, as high as 110 during the worst of it.

My normal awake resting rate is around 65, it’s still around 80 despite all
symptoms going away and trying to do some pushups today I realized that I’m
extremely weak despite not feeling bad.

I usually do 5 sets of 20 pushups (controller, full range of motion) with a
50lbs resistance band today I felt myself gasping for air after 8-10.

~~~
cbhl
I was under the impression that Apple Health is designed so that Apple itself
doesn't have access to this data, even in aggregate. Is that not the case?

~~~
Shank
That's the case. The only way that they would get this is through a research
study with explicit consent/opt-in.

~~~
dogma1138
With the current legal limitations yes, but even with an opt-in they likely
would get enough data to be valuable to researchers especially if people also
opt-in to share location data.

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divbzero
Contact tracing [1] is difficult in the middle of a pandemic from a cost-
benefit standpoint.

[1]: [https://www.who.int/features/qa/contact-
tracing/en/](https://www.who.int/features/qa/contact-tracing/en/)

But if we succeed with strong enough measures to suppress COVID-19 within a
few months, contact tracing will be critical to reduce the risk of rebound as
we reopen our society.

I propose that Apple and Google together gets a head start on contact tracing.
Singapore released the TraceTogether app (Android, iOS) for its citizens, but
ideally we could have a tool deployed by default in Android and iOS. Does
anyone know if Google and Apple are working on this?

(Apple’s Find My solution — with public keys broadcast and collected whether
phone/GPS is on/off — might contain the right building blocks for contact
tracing. But I’d leave it to top engineers at Apple and Google to build a
better solution than what I can come up with alone.)

~~~
Alex3917
> Does anyone know if Google and Apple are working on this?

It would probably illegal to create an app for contact tracing. E.g. it's
legal for Apple to have an iPhone app called Reminders, but if they were
marketing it as a tool to help people to remember to take their medication
then that would be illegal because it hasn't undergone testing to prove that
it increases medication adherence or whatever. That's why the FDA banned
doctors from using checklists to remind them to wash their hands before
surgery.

~~~
ceejayoz
The FDA did not ban doctors from using checklists.

They shut down a specific _study_ of checklists that _didn 't get informed
consent_.

This article asserts that that was the wrong call, but your claim that the FDA
has banned them is incorrect.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/opinion/30gawande.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/opinion/30gawande.html)

~~~
Alex3917
OK fair, I misremembered exactly what happened.

I'm still not convinced a contact tracing app would be legal though, given
that it could lead people to seek medical attention who might not otherwise
need or benefit from it. Didn't Apple talk about how they needed to work with
the FDA to get their ECG functionality approved?

~~~
ceejayoz
An ECG is obviously a medical device.

A contact tracing app is far less obviously in that category. It _might_ be,
but it might fall under various exemptions, with the right disclaimers.

[https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/device-software-
function...](https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/device-software-functions-
including-mobile-medical-applications/examples-mobile-apps-are-not-medical-
devices)

[https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-
guidan...](https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-
documents/policy-device-software-functions-and-mobile-medical-applications)

> Many software functions are not medical devices (meaning such software
> functions do not meet the definition of a device under section 201(h) of the
> Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act)), and FDA does not regulate
> them as devices. Some software functions may meet the definition of a
> medical device, but because they pose a lower risk to the public, FDA
> intends to exercise enforcement discretion over these devices (meaning it
> will not enforce requirements under the FD&C Act).

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lstamour
Apparently COVID-19 is only a problem in the United States, because I can’t
download this app from the Canadian App Store. I understand there might be
legal issues involved, but it’s still a bit of a disappointment.

~~~
cbhl
Both the Federal and Provincial governments have comparable self-assessment
tools on their websites. This doesn't appear to be much more sophisticated
than that:

Here's the Federal self-assessment:
[https://ca.thrive.health/covid19/en](https://ca.thrive.health/covid19/en)

Ontario: [https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-
assessment/#q0](https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/#q0)

BC: [https://bc.thrive.health/](https://bc.thrive.health/)

~~~
dorian-graph
For the UK, this is the most popular one:
[https://covid.joinzoe.com/](https://covid.joinzoe.com/)

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pouta
Here in Portugal, 2500+ volunteers are building solutions for the virus. From
arranging free housing for medical staff to a self assessment app. If your
government is slow to deploy tech solutions, I urge you to unite, bootstrap
the project and hand it over to the government as soon as it gets enough
traction.

If you want to help Portugal, you can join in
[https://tech4covid19.org](https://tech4covid19.org)

~~~
drak0n1c
Unfortunately Apple and Google are banning non-government COVID-19 apps from
their app stores. Are you having any luck getting past review?

~~~
pouta
We're using web+sms only solutions to circumvent that.

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kohtatsu
I wish the privacy policy linked to a site-specific one, not the generic
/legal/privacy.

Perhaps they couldn't get lawyers in time.

Edit: oh, if you start screening there is a site-specific one if you click
"Learn more" next to "Your answers will not be shared with Apple or the CDC
without your permission."?

[https://www.apple.com/covid19/](https://www.apple.com/covid19/)

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neilpanchal
We need a bluetooth tracker of sorts that can alarm people if they get too
close. Only Apple (or privacy focused) companies can do this responsibly,
without uploading _any_ data and keeping everything in the secure enclave.
Messages over bluetooth are encrypted and simply contain nothing but the
proximity data. But there is a problem:

1\. If you're already showing symptoms, you're gonna isolate yourself

2\. Coronavirus spreads during incubation period.

Giving access to contacts is the only way to get traceability even then you
meet and greet people who we don't keep in the contacts (Grocery store clerk).

~~~
xfitm3
No thanks. This is a social problem, not a tech challenge.

~~~
neilpanchal
Singapore is doing it: [https://www.latimes.com/world-
nation/story/2020-03-24/corona...](https://www.latimes.com/world-
nation/story/2020-03-24/coronavirus-singapore-trace-together)

~~~
onion2k
That's for tracing who came in to contact with one another after the fact. It
wouldn't stop people coming in to contact, and it's far too late for contact
tracing to be effective for Covid-19 now anyway.

~~~
mshroyer
On the contrary, contact tracing (plus widespread testing) will be necessary
in places where outbreaks are eventually brought under control and life slowly
starts returning to normal.

Of course, many places will need extensive lockdowns to reach that point.

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chrisoakman
This is very similar to
[https://CheckForCorona.com](https://CheckForCorona.com)

The team at Luminare ([https://luminaremed.com](https://luminaremed.com)) has
been working with epidemiologists and doctors from Harris County and the City
of Houston to build out a screening tool to help prioritize public testing. We
are doing about ~10k screenings per day and ready to ramp up as more testing
becomes available: [https://checkforcorona.com/harris-
county](https://checkforcorona.com/harris-county)

We are providing this tool free for any hospital or public health organization
that needs it. Please reach out if you have any connections!

------
ChrisArchitect
boring, not much to this. I suppose _another_ avenue to access the same
information (how many hundreds of sites telling ppl to social distance for
weeks) is fine but the assessment tool is what, a Q&A form using same path as
gov sites are already using in Canada, UK etc...open sourced forms too

Shrug apple marketing.

~~~
HeavenBanned
A lot of people would love to have an all-in-one app that can assuage fears on
what to do next amidst a potential slew of symptoms. You can even tailor it to
answer questions for a loved one. Not sure what’s so “Apple marketing” about
it aside from genuinely caring about people during this time of crisis.

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jimnotgym
Why does this need an app? Apart from a web browser, of course.

~~~
jclardy
Broader reach, Apple has this as the top story when you tap on the App Store.
Plus a smoother/more consistent UI on their own platform. The website works
fine on mobile but the app is way better.

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lostgame
I, for one, would love to volunteer my health information from my Watch to
help - if it’s possible that it would help in any way.

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chabes
Still no widespread testing..

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vortico
deleted

~~~
camillomiller
Unless they were apps from a trusted source, such as an official app from CDC,
this is the proper course of action.

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CoffeeDregs
Didn't know that Apple was working on this. I'm not a huge Apple fan but they
certainly did the right thing by not telling Trump (of whom I'm neither a fan
nor a hater) or by having a strong NDA to cover the work so that it couldn't
be announced...

~~~
reaperducer
_they certainly did the right thing by not telling Trump_

At the bottom it reads, "Developed With CDC, The White House, FEMA"

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TheDesolate0
They should have picked a credible source of information.

I can't believe I'm typing that about the CDC...

~~~
lostlogin
What has happened with the CDC that I have missed?

~~~
cogidub
Suggesting masks are ineffective protection was a bad start.

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yesimahuman
Explains why Apple seems to be blocking all other COVID-19 related apps. We’re
seeing most people in our ecosystem (Ionic) turn to deploying their apps as
PWAs in the short term

~~~
MBCook
Sure. Apple is after all that free app money from their free app.

It can’t possibly be because their app was developed with government guidance
and they have no reasonable way to auditing all the 3rd party apps for
accuracy and safety in a reasonable timeframe.

~~~
yesimahuman
That’s exactly what I mean. In the last few weeks they seemed to be blocking
most independent apps that tried to do something similar. Now their official
app is out and their stance makes sense. Not sure how you took my comment to
be a reference to anything revenue or free related and your sarcastic tone is
unwarranted.

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enumjorge
Its great that US companies are trying to help during times like these, but it
feels strange that companies are filling in the gaps left by American
government.

Like why do we have a Google website with CDC information and an Apple website
with CDC information? Why not have a single place that we send people? It
seems like we should have a single, cross platform app/website that is CDC
branded versus Company X branded.

~~~
throwaway829
That's been available for quite some time:
[https://www.coronavirus.gov/](https://www.coronavirus.gov/)

