Call Data Records of patients helping Uttar Pradesh trace COVID-19 contacts

Call Data Records (CDRs), used in crime investigation by police, are being analysed across Uttar Presh to trace contacts of COVID-19 patients, officials say.

In Kerala, a controversy has erupted over decision to allow police to access phone call records of COVID-19 patients for effective contact-tracing, with opposition Congress slamming Left government, saying it is an "infringement" on privacy of citizens.

Some patients, officials say, deliberately try to hide ir information or share wrong or incomplete information with health officials during treatment, making it difficult to trace ir contacts and prevent chain of virus transmission.

Sample this: Ghaziab has so far detected 6,567 people who have tested positive for COVID-19. According to officials, 637 contacts (almost 10 per cent) were traced by district police, which used surveillance methods, among ors, for job.

Prashant Kumar, ditional director general of police (law and order) said, " police chiefs of all districts in state have been instructed to use all viable means as required." "We have said that contact-tracing should be done. But how it will be done is to be decided by district authorities," Kumar told PTI.

Dr Bharat Bhushan, in-charge of contact-tracing in Gautam Buddh Nagar, ar high caselo district, said primarily teams comprising health and ministration officials carry out job.

re are five basic methods for contact-tracing, he said.

First, teams call up patients and find out ir contacts. n, re are rapid response teams (RRTs) which a site and gar information on COVID-19 patients.

At block levels, teams gar details on basis of results of antigen-based COVID-19 tests. results are quick, helping officials isolate families and contacts of infected persons.

officials remain connected with private and government labs which test COVID-19. labs are mandated to fill up an ICMR-me form with details of a person who gets tested and accordingly ir contacts are traced.

fifth method is garing details about patients from L1, L2, and L3 hospitals in district.

"Almost 90 to 95 per cent contact tracing is done by se methods. For remaining people, police help is sought because at times phone numbers of patient are switched off or go unresponsive, leing to difficulty in contact tracing," Bhushan told PTI.

Ghaziab Superintendent of Police (Crime) Gyanendra Kumar Singh said at times some people have tried to hide ir contact details or given misleing, incorrect or incomplete information.

"We get calls from district integrated control room which provide us with information of infected people whose contacts are to be traced. This happens when phone numbers given by such people are found inaccessible or dress details yield result," Singh, senior officer involved in contact tracing in Ghaziab, said.

He said police n use CDR or surveillance methods to gar required information and trace contacts.

On privacy issues during surveillance of phones, Singh said, “Hiding or giving misleing information regarding COVID-19 is a crime according to law.” As per last available UP government update, state h 51,537 active cases of COVID-19. overall tally of infection was 1,54,418 and death toll stood at 2,449.

On brighter side, more than one lakh patients have recovered from vel coronavirus and state's recovery rate stood at 65.03 per cent, official data showed Sunday.

(Photo Credit: PTI)