CoViD-19 Info Guide

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  CoViD -19 Guide

Inspiration

The diverse functionalities of the app were inspired by the experiences of international students in the US. The app endeavors to address many of the challenges faced while deciding the best options in terms of safe travel routes, quarantine measures upon arrival in the US or when traveling to their home countries, privacy concerns, best health treatments available, etc. I first presented it about a month ago, during a student workshop organized by the Columbia Legal Tech Association http://clslegaltech.com/.

What it does

Overview: Overall, it centralizes (global/regional/local, etc) info about CoVID -19 & people at risk, from a national security/know your rights/privacy/health law/travel perspective. For example, it would help people navigate the coronavirus chaos in a centralized manner (safe/available travel routes, legal developments and rights and limitation for the countries people are in or travel to, health info - e.g. what treatments are available or allowed in a certain country, what quarantine measures will be implemented upon entering a certain country, etc). And it could (voluntarily or as imposed by governments) track movements of those affected to minimize exposure risk - eg GPS, fingerprint etc. Note: Potential privacy concerns should be addressed accordingly.

Typical users: There are no foreseen restrictions, however, probably primarily international travelers who would be interested in knowing how going from one country to another affects them in terms of the aspects mentioned above, but it could also work for federal states and any country/supranational union imposing domestic travel restrictions. Secondarily, any person affected by measures imposed by authorities – e.g. in terms of quarantine laws, etc. And any person suspected or diagnosed with the disease. Or relatives/POA.

Functionalities of the app: Show safe travel routes/travel restrictions/functioning airlines, info on applicable health/privacy laws. Applicable derogations of rights in quarantine/self isolation. Note: non exhaustive exemplification.

Sources for the rules: Official websites of the authorities – most, if not all countries have dedicated websites, updated daily with all sorts of info (eg Ministries of Foreign Affairs on travel restrictions, governments on quarantine laws, etc). International NGOs. UN - WHO, e.g for available treatments, etc. Regional/National/State/Local authorities.

Output: It could generate a written report or, for example, show safe travel routes as a map, etc.

How I built it

I built a test/model app on a no-code AI automation platform (Neota Logic https://www.neotalogic.com/) to demonstrate one of the proposed functionalities of the app, i.e. potential quarantine measures in the target country. This test app is calibrated strictly for travel from the US to Romania based on the information provided by the government of Romania.

REPORT EXAMPLE 1 OF 2: A LOW RISK CASE - (a) no travel to/from regions in the "red area" (regions under quarantine measures/widespread community spread) AND b) no contact/exposure AND no Symptoms. For this scenario, the report will say that upon arrival in Romania there is mandatory self isolation for 14 days.

REPORT EXAMPLE 2 OF 2: A HIGH RISK CASE - a) Travel to/from countries in the read area (answer "yes" for travel variable), OR b) contact/exposure/(answer "yes for contact/exposure and/or symptoms) OR c) symptoms - answer "yes for symptoms OR d) When two or more of those variables are met - contact/exposure and/or travel to/from red area and/or symptoms. For this, the report will say - Mandatory quarantine for 14 days in a state facility.

Challenges I ran into

Given the volatility of the situation and the daily escalation of the emergency measures imposed by governments, the biggest challenge was to have access to the latest info. For test purposes, I used info as text input and links to official websites. However, for practicality reasons, an algorithm should be implemented to update the info automatically. Also, another challenge was to decide on the test functionality, given the complexity of the app.

What's next for CoViD-19 Info Guide

The app has a great potential for future pandemics, as well.

Built With

• neotalogic