Mass Public Health Surveillance Systems

Question

Prompt:
Do you think the threat posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) justifies the deployment of mass public health surveillance systems? What are some of the dangers associated with this kind of mass public health surveillance? Could this health crisis be used to justify expanding other surveillance systems in countries such as China, Russia, the United States?
Use material from the course readings, lectures, and guest speakers such as David Byler, to make your argument.
Some possible sources to provide context:
In Coronavirus Fight, China Gives Citizens a Color Code, With Red Flags
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/business/china-coronavirus-surveillance.html (Links to an external site.)
Congress Scrambling to Combat the Coronavirus and Resolve a Fight Over Surveillance Laws
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/27/congress-coronavirus-fisa-118021 (Links to an external site.)
Authorities from China to Russia are using COVID-19 outbreak as an excuse to increase surveillance
https://news.trust.org/item/20200305002314-damsj/ (Links to an external site.)
Directions: Use concepts and examples from the assigned course readings and course lectures to respond to the prompt. We are not asking you to summarize the readings/lectures/news sources or answer all the questions above. We are not asking for your unsupported opinions. We are asking you to make your own coherent and well supported argument about the topic. Cite specific concepts, short quotes and examples from the assigned readings and lectures as evidence to support your own argument. Your paper needs to include a thesis statement that outlines your argument and how you will support it.

Essay Requirements:
Word count: 1000-1200 words.
Word count includes the title as well as the in-text citations, but excludes the header and the end-of-the-paper bibliography.
Format:
Include your name and ID number on page 1 of your essay.
Include page numbers and an essay title.
Your essay should be double-spaced, 12-point font.
Include a works cited or bibliography at the end of your paper.
Citations: citations are required for both paraphrasing and direct quotes from either the text or lecture.

Citation format:
In-text parenthetical citation (Author year, page number) with a bibliography of works cited at the end of the document.
e. (Darian-Smith and McCarty 2017, 13)

Darian-Smith and McCarty. 2017.The Global Turn: Theories, Research Designs, and Methods for Global Studies. Oakland, CA: University of California Press. ISBN: 9780520293038.
You may use the following example for lecture material:
IN-TEXT: (McCarty 2019).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
McCarty, Philip. 2019. “Lecture Title” Global Studies Forum, October X, 2019, University of California, Irvine.

See also this link for citation guidelines: https://www.cdlib.org/ (Links to an external site.) See also the bibliography of The Global Turn for additional examples.
Submission procedure:
Papers should be uploaded to the course website (Canvas).
Upload your essay as either a Word document (.doc or .docx) OR PDF (.pdf). If you upload another format your essay will not be scored. If you use Pages, export to another format or print to pdf. There are converters online if you are not able to do this on your computer.

Solution

Mass Public Health Surveillance Systems

COVID-19 was first reported on 31st December 2019 in Wuhan City, China. Coronavirus was declared a global pandemic by the World health organization, while more than 114 countries across the world have reported positive cases of the virus. The virus has killed over 4, 000 people with more than 118, 000 infections. Considering the rapid spread rate,  many countries have stipulated measures to mitigate its risk of spreading. Italy enhanced nationwide lockdown to reduce the spread of the virus while China implemented lockdown in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19. The United States also restricted travel from European countries to curb the spread of this illness. Although the COVID-19 is a global threat, implementingstrategic approaches might reduceand controlthe spread of the virus; hence, the mass public surveillance system can enhance formulation of programs and strategies to  curb the spread of the deadly virus.  

The Need for Mass Public Health Surveillance Systems

Mass gathering, such as in theatres, festivals, sports halls, conference halls, and spiritual settings can contribute to the spread of the virus. and hence such contacts should be restricted (Interim Guidance, 2020). A strategic approach should be established to reduce the burden and pressure of the virus on the health systems. Since COVID-19 is a world pandemic, mass public health surveillance should be implemented to determine the scope and the extent of the health issue on the affected population. Such retrictions are critical because no vaccine is available at the moment.  

Mass public health surveillance allows health professionals to track the disease trends and to identify the risk factors associated with the virus, which can help in formulating interventions to condone the spread of the disease. The surveillance will enable the evaluation of potential problems associated with the planning and prevention of the spread of the virus (Interim Guidance, 2020). Such a practice can help in the early detection of Coronavirus cases in places with  no reported cases. 

           Mass public health surveillance can generate data that would help health officials to understand COVID-19 better. It will be difficult to improve the health condition without a proper understanding of the virus. Continuous data collection is necessary for monitoring COVID-19 because the information collected would identifypathogens involved, mortality rates linked to the virus, and the overall affected population (Interim Guidance, 2020). Understanding the pathogens involved will assist  scientists to mitigate the problem, hencedevelop public health interventions. 

Mass public health surveillance facilitates evidenced-based practice in public health. Current and correct data on COVID-19 is important in the evaluation of programs that would mitigatethe risk associated with the virus (MacIntyrea, 2020). An integrated and competent surveillance system can facilitate the success of the interventions and programs aimed at reducing the spread of the virus. Besides,  surveillance is important in the control and formulation of initiatives that would eradicatethe virus. 

Health systems and governments should implement surveillance systems that provide specific data on COVID-19. Such systems would assist in measuring the comparative significance of the health issue. Determinants and facts about Coronavirus will help many countries in making informed decisions when spending resources to access  the best preventive and control measures (MacIntyrea, 2020). Quality data helps health officials in formulating appropriate interventions because statistics from the surveillance system are used in resource allocation..

Dangers Associated with Mass Public Health Surveillance Systems

           Mass public health surveillance is associated with different dangers. The public health officials might not capture all the data needed in the evaluation of the risk of COVID-19 due to difficulty encountered in monitoring the behaviors of different individuals in the society. Monitoring the symptoms displayed by patients and the way patients are responding to different medications can be difficult as well. Overall, public officials might not gather all the required data through mass surveillance.   

Mass surveillance invades the privacy of citizens considering thattinformation of citizens should be kept confidential. The surveillance system in China shares citizens’ information with the police officers. The sharing of personal data with police officers erodes the distinction between the communist party government and China’s tech titans (Congressional, 2020). Data on health issues of patients should be confidential.  

The surveillance system that reveals  the health status of citizens in China may fail to explain the way it classifies individuals. The system has caused bewilderment and fear among people who have been directed to isolate themselves due to their contagious risk. Unfortunately, the systems can give false and inaccurate information on the health status of individuals. For example, a worker was instructed to stay at home after she was issued a red code. Hence, she has been stuck at home for weeks without displaying any symptoms of COVID-19. Increased mass surveillance and information control undermine the public health system. 

The Need for Expansion of Mass Public Health Surveillance Systems

Countries with the highest number of Coronavirus cases should implement the mass public health system surveillance. Besides, they s should expand the surveillance systems to enable evaluation of programs and interventions that can reducethe transmission rates of the virus and manage the confirmed cases. Surveillance systems assist in the detection, registration, confirmation, and reporting. For instance, the use of smartphone software in China helps in determining the individuals that should be quarantined to control the spread of the virus (Thomson, 2020). Expansion of the surveillance systems in the affected countries will help in the provision of appropriate data for control and response to the virus.

Coronavirus pandemic needs an efficient implementation of surveillance system. The virus is spreading at a high rate across the globe with increasing death toll and confirmed positive cases. Countries such as China are using big data in travel stations to draw a conclusion on the people who are at contagion risk. The security cameras and artificial intelligence in China can recognize the faces of people even with  masks and report them to authorities if they are breaching self-quarantine measures. In addition, the map shows the location of infected patients, which helps in monitoring their movements (Thomson, 2020). The big data is analyzed through personal data of travels such as recent places traveled, national ID numbers, and contact information.

Countries affected by COVID-19 should implement strategic surveillance measures to monitor the spread of the virus and the movement of infected individuals. Facial recognition technology can be used to check if the infected individuals are following or violating self-quarantine measures. Facial recognition can assist in containing the Coronavirus outbreak Overall, COVID-19 is a serious threat, and governments should respond promptly by collecting and analyzing the information about the citizens concerning their statuses and the risk involved. 

References

Congressional Chaos Season is Back. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/27/congress-coronavirus-fisa-118021

Interim Guidance: Healthcare Professionals, 2019-nCoV. (2020, 4th March). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-criteria.html

MacIntyrea, C. R. (2020). On a knife’s edge of a COVID-19 pandemic: is containment still possible?.

Thomson Reuters Foundation. (2020). Coronavirus controls increase surveillance ‘danger.’ Retrieved from https://news.trust.org/item/20200305002314-damsj/