Hi there,

While primary care and saving lives continues to be the key focus of Covid-19 efforts, thoughts are increasingly turning to how to enable people to get back to work safely and mitigate the devastating economic impact.

It’s an area where technology must play a key role. The use of contact tracing apps will enable governments to loosen movement restrictions while still ensuring any new cases, and those who have been in contact with them, can be quickly isolated. While specific details have not been released on exactly where developments have got to, it appears that the tech sector has finally been engaged by authorities.

Urgency must be given to this crucial initiative, and the politics around unfounded privacy concerns put aside for the greater good.

While it is encouraging that smartphone movement data is being analysed to track the success of isolation, the tech giants are in a unique position to do much more to apply their vast resources to solving the Covid-19 contact tracing problem.

In this week’s news:

Contact tracing the critical factor in breaking lockdown
Google’s got the data but will it use it?
Gartner study points to post-Covid digital acceleration
Zoom responds at speed to security questions
Dr Watson is in the house – or on the phone at least

Of course, with Easter upon us, we might ordinarily be wishing a very Happy Easter to you and your family. Under lockdown conditions, however, let's up that to wishing you a very Happy, Kind, Nice, Friendly, Homely and Safe Easter, from the team here at iStart.

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

iStart remains committed to delivering our news and editorial services covering the crisis during these difficult times.

We empathise with those in affected sectors. We will be doing our bit to encourage the tech and business community to keep operating effectively and get everyone safely through.

STOP THE SPREAD!

CONTACT TRACING

Contact tracing app vital for ending lockdown

Urgency needed to find right tech to fight Covid spread…

A Ministry of Health technical working group is understood to be looking at options for digital contact tracing as calls grow for technology to build resilience and enable countries to get back to work.

“I can’t stress enough that we have got to use better technology.”

[Read more]

MAPPING COVID19

Google taps location data for Covid lockdown maps

It’s got our data already, so why not use it for public good?…

If you have ever wondered about the quantity of data Google holds on our daily movements, wonder no more.

“Aggregated, anonymised data could be helpful as they make critical decisions to combat Covid-19.”

[Read more]

DIGITISATION

The case for digital goes stratospheric

Don’t waste a ‘good’ crisis…

If you thought there was already a lot pressure to go digital, wait until you see the post-Covid world.

“Let’s not fire our development team, wreck projects and get rid of infrastructure.”

[Read more]

VIDEO CONFERENCING

Zoom scrambles to recover security cred

Zoom adds security enhancements to cap off its no good, very bad month…

With the coronavirus sending the world into remote-work lockdown, video conferencing software company Zoom, has suddenly found itself swimming in the mainstream.

“We did not design the product with the foresight that, in a matter of weeks, every person in the world would suddenly be working, studying, and socialising from home.”

[Read more]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

IBM Watson serving up Covid info

Dr Watson on call to take strain off overloaded help lines…

As health lines face a deluge of calls for Covid information, IBM is hoping its new offering will see govts and health organisations tapping AI rather than overstretched human responders.

It provides an AI-powered virtual agent to help deliver information while alleviating the pressure on contact centres.

[Read more]

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