What’s a coronavirus superspreader?

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The Download

Your daily dose of what’s up
in emerging technology

06.16.20

Good morning! Today: what's a coronavirus superspreader? Also: Norway has stopped work on its contact tracing app over privacy concerns. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day.

What’s a coronavirus superspreader?

There’s evidence to suggest that most covid-19 infections are transmitted by a select few individuals we call “superspreaders.”

What is a superspreader? An unusually contagious individual who’s been infected with disease. They can infect far more than the two to three individuals researchers initially estimated the average infected patient could infect.

What’s the impact of superspreaders? Researchers are beginning to come to a consensus after several new studies suggested that the vast majority of people infect very few others or none at all. Lots of outbreaks around the world have been linked to single superspreader events. For example, a choir practice in Washington State infected about 52 people, and a megachurch in Seoul was linked to the majority of initial infections in South Korea.

What makes someone a superspreader? It might have something to do with increased viral loads and shedding more virus than is normal, but we still don’t know what would trigger this, let alone how to identify it through practical means.

What do we do about superspreaders? We can’t medically diagnose superspreaders, but we can limit their impact. Contact tracing is critical. Read the full story.

—Neel Patel

Norway halts coronavirus app over privacy concerns

The news: Norway is halting its coronavirus contact tracing app, Smittestopp, after the Norwegian Data Protection Authority said that the country’s low rate of infections meant that the app’s privacy invasions were no longer justified. The app will cease collecting new data, all data collected so far is being deleted, and work on it is effectively paused indefinitely.

Contentious: Officials at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) disagreed with the decision. “The pandemic is not over. We have no immunity in the population, no vaccine, and no effective treatment. Without the Smittestopp app, we will be less equipped to prevent new outbreaks that may occur locally or nationally,” NIPH director Camilla Stoltenberg said in a statement on Monday.

The context: New contact tracing apps are seeing mixed success as the virus itself continues to ebb and flow around the world. It’s not all bad news, though. Italy was the first country in the continent to be badly hit, and Immuni, the contact tracing app backed by the government in Rome, was released recently to relatively positive reviews and quickly adopted by the Italian residents who are able to download it. However, the reaction to these apps globally has led to profound skepticism about whether they will help fight the coronavirus in most countries. Read the full story.

Read next: We’ve compiled a database of contact tracing apps around the world. Check it out.

—Patrick Howell O’Neill

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)

+ Hummingbirds can see colors we can’t even imagine.
+ A comfy owl on a towel.
+ The cast of Ghostbusters held a reunion on Zoom.
+ This coloring book lets you make art out of Elon Musk’s tweets.

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The top ten must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 We’re still working out how deadly the coronavirus is
If the percentage is too low, people get complacent. Too high, and they needlessly panic. (Nature)
+ Most Americans are worried about a resurgence in the spread of the virus. (Axios)
+ But 7 in 10 say they won’t download contact tracing apps. (Ars Technica)

2 One in five people worldwide have conditions that could worsen covid-19
People with conditions like diabetes or heart and lung disease are more vulnerable. (NYT $)
+ The FDA has withdrawn emergency approval for two antimalarial drugs. (NPR)

3 Tracking our location data is good now 📍
Privacy concerns seem to be taking a backseat during the pandemic. (WSJ $)
+ Get ready for a whole new level of surveillance when you fly. (Slate)
+ Political groups targeted anti-police violence protesters’ data. (WSJ $)

4 As cities reopen, long lines are the norm
Capacity limits and social distancing measures make queues inevitable. (Wired $)

5 Lonely? Try befriending a chatbot
It’s hard to tell if this is nice or deeply sad. (NYT $)

6 Facebook has deleted dozens of Middle Eastern activists’ accounts
Tell me again how you’re protecting free speech, Zuck. (NBC)

7 People are becoming online detectives during lockdown 🕵️‍♀️
There are worse ways you could spend your time. (BBC Future)

8 Keyboard crusaders are taking on vaccine misinformation online
Closing vaccine-exemption loopholes in state policies might have more impact, though. (Wired $)
+ The first covid vaccines may not actually stop you getting covid. (Bloomberg)

9 Inside London’s illegal haircut scene 💇
Lots of people are resorting to subterfuge just to get a trim. (The Guardian)

10 What technology has accidentally killed the most people? ☠️
Dams and the printing press are some of the contenders for the dubious title. (Gizmodo)

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Quote of the day

“The Kremlin doesn’t need to make fake news anymore. It’s all American made.”

—Clint Watts, a former FBI special agent, tells the New York Times that Russia has concluded it’s easier to spread divisive posts from real Americans than create their own.