Author Archives: Bodger

RTÉ’s Health Correspondent Fergal Bowers 

This morning.

On RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, host Bryan Dobson spoke to RTÉs Health Correspondent Fergal Bowers about the latest Covid-19 developments.

In relation to the current movement restrictions which are set to be in place until May 5, Mr Bowers said:

“There’s no specific date in May, or otherwise, when restrictions will be lifted, or what restrictions will be lifted.

“We simply do not know so it is very uncertain at this point and people shouldn’t be expecting a lifting or a wide lifting of restrictions anytime in the near future I think, I’d say, given the briefings we had yesterday.

“And Covid-19 is going to be with us for the foreseeable future. I mean that means for the years ahead it will be there in the community somewhere, moving as influenza is but obviously Covid-19 poses a different threat, an unparalleled threat.

“And so social distancing will continue until a vaccine is available. And a vaccine won’t be available, certainly you would think, for a year or more.

“There may be some restrictions but only where the evidence points to that and also when the system has the capacity for rapid, speedy testing of people and follow-up contract tracing quickly, that’s crucial.

“So what will be looking at? We’ll be looking at, in order for any restrictions to be lifted, you’d want the infection rate out there to be down below one, so that’s where one person is infecting less than another person. So it’s not spreading in the community. You’d also want to see admissions to intensive care down.

“You’d want to think about what activity could be safely resumed, where social distancing can be exercised and what’s working in other countries. That will be crucial.”

Listen back in full here

Previously: Locking Down Our Civil Liberties

CEO of the HSE Paul Reid at a media briefing yesterday

On Sunday.

In the Business Post, Susan Mitchell reported:

Multiple media outlets have sought precise details of the extent of the testing backlog.

The HSE and the Department of Health have repeatedly refused to disclose this information. This is not because the information does not exist. It does.

In fact, detailed information on the backlog is collated and broken down by individual geographical areas called community healthcare organisations (CHO) within the HSE.

An official document dated March 27, but labelled confidential, laid it all out clearly. Back then, there was a testing backlog of just over 83,013 according to “information available” on March 23.

More up-to-date figures are certainly available. They’re simply being hidden from view.

Further to this…

Yesterday, CEO of the HSE Paul Reid told journalists that the backlog of Covid-19 tests has dropped from around 35,000 people waiting for results to 11,000.

He also said he expects the backlog to be fully cleared by the end of the week.

Anyone?

Susan Mitchell: Do not test the public’s patience by keeping the truth from them (Business Post)

Related: Coronavirus: Republic reports 31 further deaths as cases pass 10,000 (The Irish Times)

Previously: The Wait Debate

Nine Days Ago

Rollingnews

Dublin-based comedian, writer and impressionist Liam Hourican with another ‘character in isolation’.

Liam writes:

Elder statesman Gerry shares some recipes in self isolation…

Liam Hourican

Previously: Everything Happens For A Reason

Off The Cough

Kitchen Nightmare

This morning.

Lough Gill, County Sligo

Via Eddie Lee

Meanwhile…

This morning.

University Road, Galway.

From top: How a HSE COVID-19 “Patient Management” app looked as of last Friday evening on the Apple Store; how it looks now

Yesterday.

As the HSE says it is continuing to carry out security and product testing of the CovidTracker Ireland App…

The Sunday Times reported that, on Saturday, the company behind a separate HSE app which tracks the oxygen saturation of Covid-19 patients, and which has been advertised on Apple Store for over a week, has removed its HSE branding.

The newspaper reported:

Yesterday PatientMPower, a company that has developed a clinical app for suspected Covid-19 cases — one that works with a pulse oximeter to track oxygen saturation of patients — removed all HSE branding from it on the Apple app store. Sources say this was to avoid confusion with a forthcoming HSE tracing and symptom tracker app.

The HSE said the solution provided by PatientMPower “facilitates the remote monitoring of patients who have been provided with an oximeter to monitor the level of oxygen saturation in the blood for Covid-19 patients”. The oximeter and access to the app is provided by clinicians.

“While the app can be downloaded, patients must have a username and password to use it. We have worked with PatientMPower to update the branding used for this existing app, to avoid any confusion with the CovidTracker Ireland app due to be released soon, so both are easy to identify,” it added.

The use of the PatientMPower app by a specific patient recovering from Covid-19 also briefly featured in reports on RTÉ’s Six One and Nine O’Clock News yesterday evening.

Restriction on Irish schools may be eased in May (The Sunday Times)

Meanwhile…

In The Guardian this morning…

A draft government memo explaining how the NHS contact-tracing app could stem the spread of the coronavirus said ministers might be given the ability to order “de-anonymisation” to identify people from their smartphones, the Guardian can reveal.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, announced on Sunday that the UK planned to introduce an app that would enable people who developed Covid-19 symptoms to “anonymously” alert other users to whom they had been in close proximity. “All data will be handled according to the highest ethical and security standards, and would only be used for NHS care and research,” he said.

However, the government document seen by the Guardian, headed “official – sensitive” and “draft – not yet approved”, suggests the NHS privately considered using the technology to identify users.

…the memo stated that “more controversially” the app could use device IDs, which are unique to all smartphones, “to enable de-anonymisation if ministers judge that to be proportionate at some stage”. It did not say why ministers might want to identify app users, or under what circumstances doing so would be proportionate.

NHS coronavirus app: memo discussed giving ministers power to ‘de-anonymise’ users (The Guardian)

Previously: The CovidTracker App And You

Dear Mr Reid…

HSE logo; excerpt from letter that the HSE has sent Digital Rights Ireland; tweet from DRI

In the past hour.

The Irish Times has reported that Digital Rights Ireland has received a response from the HSE, following on from the DRI writing to the HSE about its planned contact-tracing app.

The DRI wrote about the HSE’s “heavy obligation” in relation to the app’s privacy and data protection and asked for any documentation pertaining to the app’s Data Protection Impact Assessment to be forwarded to the DRI. The DRI also offered to assist the HSE.

In its response, the HSE said it will publish the app’s Data Protection Impact Assessment when the app is launched.

Jack Horgan-Jones reports:

Antoin O Lachtain, a spokesman for Digital Rights Ireland, told The Irish Times that according to information given to the group by the HSE, “they are planning to build a ‘super-app’ which will be much more comprehensive thant the contact tracing app which was originally discussed”.

…It will also delete all identifiable data from the app once the pandemic is over, the HSE said in its letter. “We are very keen to ensure that the potentially lifesaving app has public support and would welcome your positive input once we publish the relevant documentation and the app,” the HSE wrote in its letter.

Coronavirus: Privacy advocates say HSE planning a ‘super app’ (The Irish Times)

Meanwhile, on Tuesday…

Broadsheet sent a number of questions to the HSE about the Covid-19 contact-tracing app referred to above and HSE Covid-19 Patient Management app, advertised on the Apple Store.

At 4.18pm today, the HSE responded as follows:

As part of the national response to Covid-19, work is underway to develop a new national mobile app for Ireland that will allow citizens to track their symptoms in real-time, and to digitally trace close contacts.

This will assist in national contact tracing efforts in the weeks and months ahead, as we move forward from the containment and mitigation phases of the public health response to Covid-19. The HSE is carrying out final security and product testing of the CovidTracker Ireland App.

The mobile app is being designed as a key element of the next phase of Irish national public health response. The power of the app lies in its capacity to provide early insight into the spread of Covid-19 and in its ability to enable the health services speed up and improve contact tracing.

The CovidTracker Ireland App will:

• help the health service with its efforts in Contact Tracing for people who are confirmed cases

• allow a user to record how well they are feeling, or track their symptoms every day

• provide links to advice if the user has symptoms or is feeling unwell

• give the user up-to-date information about the virus in Ireland

The Irish app will be designed in a way that maximises privacy as well as maximising value for public health. Privacy-by-design is a core principle underpinning the design of the CovidTracker Ireland App – which will operate on a voluntary and fully opt-in basis. The objective is to put in place a single official national Covid-19 mobile phone App for the population.

The CovidTracker Ireland App will be a vital part of our collective efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19, support our goal to flatten the curve, and hasten the easing of restrictions across the country.

Intensive work is underway in the Health Service Executive and across the Department of Health with direct support from the Office of Government Chief Information Officer and other technical expertise across the public service.

The implementation timeline will be determined by the technical progress and the results from the security and product testing that is underway. When it is ready the Department of Health and the HSE will formally launch the app with clear instructions on how to download and use it.

The questions were:

1. Has the HSE responded to Digital Rights Ireland’s recent letter to HSE CEO Paul Reid about its concerns related to the app/s? What is the HSE’s response? Has the HSE taken up DRI’s offer to help?

2. When will the contract tracing app be rolled out? Has the HSE Covid-19 app been officially launched?

3. What is the purpose of the HSE Covid-19 app which appears to ask for symptoms and users’ location? Does the HSE have any more proposed apps related to Covid-19 in the pipeline?

4. What specific data will be gathered from this app/these apps? How exactly will they work?

5. How will the data be stored?

6. Will there be a time-limit on how long the data will be stored?

7. Will the data be shared with anyone else, any other organisation or any other Government department or agency such as An Garda Síochána?

8. Who would be the controllers and processors of the data collected by this app/these apps?

9. We understand that the HSE has been in contact with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner about the contract tracing app. Could the HSE outline the extent of these communications? Did the HSE liaise with the DPC in relation to the HSE Covid-19 app? Did the HSE liaise with any other privacy experts/advocates about the tracing app or any other apps?

10. What evidence does the HSE have that such apps contribute to limiting the spread of Covid-19?

11. How will the HSE ensure the app/apps are proportionate, necessary and in line with GDPR rules?

12. Did the HSE carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment in respect of the app/s and will this/these be published?

Previously: Track And Trace

Dear Mr Reid…