Technology
TAIPEI: How Taiwan used simple tech to help contain Covid-19
TAIPEI: Taiwan has kept Covid infection rates very low partly by imposing strict travel restrictions
In Taiwan, finding someone who will talk about their Covid experience is harder than you might think.
The island has maintained some of the lowest case rates in the world throughout the pandemic – lasting more than 200 days in 2020 without a single case.
During its worst outbreak in May 2021, its daily case load amounted to several hundred local cases per day.
Since the Omicron variant hit Taiwan in early January, local case numbers have remained relatively low, in single figures or low double digits each day.
Given these numbers there is some stigma attached to catching the virus. The BBC spoke to one Taiwanese man who caught Covid-19 at the end of January, but he would not reveal his name, or many details, for fear of negative reactions or disapproval from other people.
He tells us after testing positive from a home test and then again at the hospital, he was sent to an isolation ward. The police then investigated his movements for 14 days prior to testing positive – based on self-reported information and his past QR scans at restaurants, and other venues.
That sophisticated tracing system emerged from a relatively low-tech and crowd sourced development process.
G0v, pronounced ‘gov zero’: a largely anonymous collective of tech workers – designers, programmers, activists – has been key in originating ideas.
The collective is best known for bi-monthly hackathons and “forking” – a concept taken from programing, where existing open source software is redesigned into a new product.
Digital Minister Audrey Tang credits crowd sourced solutions for supporting Taiwan’s Covid response
When Covid-19 reached Taiwan in early 2020, g0v began to crowd source solutions to emerging problems thrown up by the crisis, such as mass contact tracing and mask rationing.
The best ideas were then brought to Taiwan’s digital minister, Audrey Tang (also a g0v contributor), who would share them with Taiwan’s cabinet.
G0v worked through several proposals to create a robust contact tracing system – from Google-based forms, to webpages and apps, but they all proved to be too cumbersome.
Eventually, the group came up with a hybrid-solution. The system uses quick response (QR) codes and a corresponding 15 digit code, that can be texted for free, without a smartphone, to the 1922 hotline at Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC).
The QR-based system was originally designed for public transport only, explains Ms Tang, but was quickly embraced much more widely.
More than two million businesses, from shops and cafes, to its famous night markets, hung QR codes up on their walls in the first week of rollout. Customers must scan them every time they enter a business, text 1922, or fill in an old fashioned pen and paper form (kept on file) in case of a community outbreak.
These QR codes have allowed local health authorities to work backwards in order to retrace a person’s movements when a positive case is detected – a labour-intensive, painstaking procedure that is only possible thanks to some of the lowest case rates in the world.
Tawian’s QR code system at many public venues from cafes to markets proved popular and successful
Despite strict border controls, authorities have still investigated six million potential contacts, according to data from the Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC).
Since Taiwan’s first confirmed positive Covid-19 case in January 2020, there have been a further 20,156 confirmed cases.
Taiwan’s cell phone networks were also used in contact tracing to find and contact individuals who may have been exposed to the virus.
For instance, In early 2020, health authorities texted more than 627,000 people who may have come in contact with covid-positive passengers after they disembarked in northern Taiwan from a Japanese cruise ship.
While easy to use, contact tracing has raised some important questions over an individual’s data privacy in many countries, a concern that Ms Tang says was factored into the creation of Taiwan’s own systems.
Cell phone tower data, for example, was chosen over global positioning system data (GPS) because it can only provide an approximate (as opposed to exact) user location, Ms Tang says. While contact tracing data is also purposely decentralised, deleted after 28 days and kept out of the hands of prosecutors.
She says the phone company, venue and QR code maker only have fragmented data about each individual.
“So, these different parties are storing only part of the piece of the puzzle, and without piecing them together, a cybersecurity breach or something does not actually reveal anything useful.”
Tough travel restrictions helped protect Taiwan with early measures including mandatory quarantine
Strict travel restrictions barring most foreigners have largely remained in place since early 2020, keeping the virus locked out of Taiwan and its outlying islands. The few visitors who do arrive are tracked.
Their travel data is sent in batches to the National Health Insurance Administration – Taiwan’s answer to the UK’s National Health Service – to be stored for a period of time, following their arrival.
They must also undergo mandatory quarantine: 14 days in a quarantine hotel, or at home, followed by 7 days of “self-health management.” Over the 21-day period, they receive calls and texts about their health status from the CECC and local police station.
While vaccines became widely available in countries like the US and UK in 2021, Taiwan faced major vaccine shortages due to Covax production delays and the slow development of a home grown alternative jab.
When Taiwan was then hit by its worst Covid outbreak in a year, in May 2021 after months without a single local case, vaccine donations from the US, Japan, Lithuania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic arrived. But working out how to efficiently distribute them was the next challenge
Taiwan’s government initially followed a vaccine rationing system based on age, occupation and other health risks to ensure as many people as possible received their first dose, before moving onto the second and later boosters.
Here again, g0v stayed involved, as members helped develop a centralised website, to find nearby vaccination centres (although vaccine registration could also be found on individual hospital websites.)
Cofacts, an existing g0v project to fact check fake news also began to publish posts debunking a surge in disinformation about Covid-19 and various vaccines.
Despite this wave of disinformation Taiwanese people have been largely receptive to immunisation. Vaccination rates top 80% for the first dose, upwards of 75% for the second dose, and now more than 30% for a third booster shot, as of mid-February.
Jabs are recorded in vaccine booklets, although simple QR-based digital certificates can also be printed out, or added to apps like Apple Wallet.
Taiwan’s Covid success would not be possible without ‘buy-in’ from a society that has continued to use QR-based tracking and carefully follows other government guidelines like mask wearing and social distancing.
“Most people in the United States do not want to get tracked, but in Taiwan, if you say we’re tracking you for pandemic purposes, most people will accept that,” says Jason Wang, Professor of Paediatrics and Health Policy at Stanford University, who has published academic work on Taiwan’s contact tracing and Covid-19 response.
Mr Wang says a key factor driving willingness to cooperate is that many Taiwanese lived through severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) 20 years ago. So, when Covid-19 emerged, both the government and society were more prepared and willing to act than most places.
“People were scared of what happened during SARS, and there’s a sense of self-preservation and social solidarity from that [experience],” she says.
Technology
CAIRO: Indian-Origin Teen, Son Of IIT-JEE Topper, Wins Gold At World’s Toughest Programming Contest
CAIRO: Agastya Goel, a 17-year-old Indian-origin student from California, has won his second gold medal at the 36th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), which took place in Egypt. Agastya, son of Stanford professor Ashish Goel, secured the fourth overall rank at the prestigious contest, also dubbed as the world’s toughest programming competition for high school students.
Agastya scored 438.97 out of 600, while Kangyang Zhou of China topped the event with a perfect score of 600. A total of 34 students were awarded gold medals this year, including fellow Indian participant Kshitij Sodani, who ranked 21st.
This marks the 17-year-old’s second gold at the IOI. His father, Ashish Goel, made waves in 1990 by topping the IIT-JEE exam before going on to build a distinguished career at companies like Twitter and Stripe.
Who is Agastya Goel?
Agastya Goel, a junior at Henry M Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California, loves physics, computer science, and music. His hobbies include tennis, hiking, stargazing, and playing the guitar and piano.
Agastya’s interest in physics began at a young age, with his father introducing him to the subject during car rides and hikes. One memorable experience was learning about projectile motion while playing Angry Birds. This sparked a fascination with physics that has only grown stronger over the years.
Agastya’s competitive spirit was ignited through the USACO competition series, which he started preparing for in 6th grade. His hard work earned him a spot at the USACO training camp in his freshman year, followed by selection for the US IOI team.
Initially, Agastya considered majoring in computer science, but after exploring physics, he discovered a new passion. He spent 14 days intensively studying physics over winter break and was hooked.
CALIFORNIA: Indian-origin business leaders from the IT industry lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for putting India on the global map as a “credible innovator and leader” for all nations to invest in and grow.
Speaking at the Indiaspora AI Summit 2024 on ‘Can Artificial intelligence be good force for future or not’ at the University of Stanford on April 26, Informatica CEO Amit Walia said, “India is perceived very differently in the global space. It’s a space of innovation. It’s a space of human capital. It’s a space of progress and innovation. And as we look forward, what Modi has been able to do is put India into the global map as a credible innovator, leader for all countries to invest in and grow.”
Speaking at the same event, Elastic CEO Ashutosh Kulkarni said that PM Modi and the government have been doing amazing work.
Mr Kulkarni said, “The Prime Minister and the government has been doing some amazing work and their focus on being open to innovation, their focus on industry, their focus on bringing the population, India is now one of the, it is the largest, most populous country in the world and bringing that population towards progress, the way they have tapped into the potential of this country has just been fantastic.”
Calling PM Modi’s era “amazing,” Mayfield Fund Managing Partner Navin Chaddha praised PM Modi’s leadership for ties between India and the US and his ability to connect the Indian diaspora which he stressed is doing extremely well in the tech industry. He noted that India is making progress in using technology and improving its infrastructure.
Navin Chaddha said, “The Modi era has been amazing, the kind of relationship they’ve been able to build with the United States. And to be able to connect the Indian diaspora, which is doing extremely well in the tech industry, hats off to them. And also the progress India is making in using technology, improving the infrastructure is just amazing. So, Mr Modi, keep doing what you’re doing.”
Rohit Jain, Speaker and Moderator – CIO, Harvard Business School, called on PM Modi to increase his guarantee, as he has always delivered. The event on Artificial Intelligence was organised to deliberate and discuss artificial intelligence.
He said, “Mr Modi needs to increase his guarantee because he’s always been delivering. So, I think his promises have been 100 per cent true. So, he now needs to promise 110 per cent and then again he’ll deliver on that. Mr Modi, thank you for what you have done, not only for India, but for the world.”
Priya Rajan, Managing Director, National Venture Coverage and Business Development, MUFG lauded PM Modi’s leadership in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He stated that a number of VCs across the globe want to invest in India.
She said, “I see the Modi magic play is in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is an adventure ecosystem. So you can see the number of VCs now wanting to invest, not just where in India, investing in India, but world investors around the world wanting to do things. And you’re seeing kind of US, a ton of US global investors now setting up shops in India. I think that’s all coming back to what Modi magic has created.”
At the event, prominent Indian diaspora, along with the esteemed corporate leaders from the US shared their insights on the topic “Can Artificial Intelligence be a force for future or not.”
Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu participated in the event. Notably, PM Modi has been advocating that artificial intelligence can provide a great support to help humanity’s development in the 21st century.
Taking to X, Satnam Singh Sandhu stated, “Indiaspora AI Summit, Stanford University, USA: Delighted to be a part of the summit where we had @ericgarcetti, US Ambassador to India, Indian Diaspora and business leaders from IT sectors who reiterated how PM @narendramodi Ji is leveraging AI to shape nation’s future strategy to build Viksit Bharat by 2047.”
“They highlighted PM Modi’s tech-savvy approach and his efforts to promote AI applications in various sectors like agriculture, health-care, and education for social development and inclusive growth. They also condemned the Western bias against India to rank them lower in parameters like Ease of doing business, and cite the irregularities while computing such rankings,” he added.
Earlier in December, PM Narendra Modi said that artificial intelligence is a dynamic issue and that India is working on creating a global framework for AI. He made the remarks while interacting with the participants of the Grand Finale of the Smart India Hackathon.
Speaking to the participants via video conferencing, the Prime Minister said, “AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a very dynamic issue. If one solution is brought in, the mischievous people will find another way. We have to be very alert to any new technology. It can be very useful if used within rules, but if it is used in the wrong way, it can create a lot of problems.”
“We all are aware of the generative AI-created deep fake videos that look completely real. Hence we need to be more alert before believing any photo or video. India is working on creating a global framework for AI,” said PM Modi.
SILICON VALLEY: Pavan Davuluri, an IIT Madras graduate, has been appointed the new head of Microsoft Windows and Surface. He succeeds Panos Panay, who left for Amazon last year. Mr Davuluri previously oversaw the Surface group and now leads both Windows and Surface departments.
Rajesh Jha, Microsoft’s head of experiences and devices, said, “As part of this change, we are bringing together the Windows Experiences and Windows + Devices teams as a core part of the Experiences + Devices (E+D) division. This will enable us to take a holistic approach to building silicon, systems, experiences, and devices that span Windows client and cloud for this AI era.”
“Pavan Davuluri will lead this team and continue to report to me. Shilpa Ranganathan and Jeff Johnson and their teams will report directly to Pavan. The Windows team will continue to work closely with the Microsoft AI team on AI, silicon, and experiences,” he said.
Who is Pavan Davuluri?
- Pavan Kumar Davuluri is an IIT Madras graduate. He completed his post-graduation from the University of Maryland, according to his LinkedIn
- Mr Davuluri began his career at Microsoft as a Reliability Component Manager in 2001.
- Mr Davuluri has held various leadership positions over his 23-year tenure at Microsoft, working across PC and Xbox hardware, Surface, and Windows.
- Pavan Davuluri took on the role of corporate vice president for Windows and Silicon & Systems Integration in 2021, overseeing efforts to optimise Windows for Arm-based devices.
- Mr Davuluri was recently assigned to lead Windows engineering alongside his existing responsibilities in Microsoft’s hardware endeavours. He will lead a dedicated team developing silicon systems for Microsoft’s Windows and Surface products.
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