WELLINGTON: New Zealand border staff on April 15 began trialing a monitoring app designed to detect COVID-19 before the user develops any noticeable symptoms, in what is believed to be a world first.
The app, “elarm”, connects to wearable devices such as fitness trackers and smart watches, using artificial intelligence to check variables such as heart rate and temperature for tell-tale signs of COVID-19, The developer, New Zealand based Datamine, claims it may well detect the virus with 90 percent accuracy as much as three days earlier than the appearance of symptoms such as coughing, respiratory difficulties, and fatigue.
The health department mentioned it could provide a vital early warning for staff at the border who face the most risk of exposure to the virus, now virtually only seen in arriving international travelers.
“If the elarm app lives up to its potential, it might provide early notification to our critical border workforce if they’re becoming unwell,” deputy health director Shayne Hunter mentioned.
“That means they can take appropriate action such as self-isolating and be tested for COVID-19.”
New Zealand has been largely successful in containing the virus, with just 26 deaths in a population of 5 million.
The few community cases that have occurred have generally been linked to border staff who had been exposed to the virus via incoming travelers undergoing quarantine.
Hunter mentioned about 500 border staff would take part in a month-long trial of the app.
The technology uses artificial intelligence to establish a health baseline for every person, then alerts them if there are physiological changes per COVID-19.
The government mentioned the privacy of the border staff was guaranteed and only they would have access to their own health data.
Elarm is already available to individuals for a monthly subscription and some firms such as US mining giant Newcrest have made it available to their staff.
However, the New Zealand trial is believed to be the first time a government has used it at the border, which is widely viewed as the frontline in containing the virus.
