When the coronavirus pandemic first swept around the globe, national numbers were the key area of focus for governments and individuals alike. Daily death tolls and infection rates were how each country gauged its success (or otherwise) in containing the virus, and these were also keenly watched for the steady lowering which would signal imminent release from lockdown.
A few months on, generally living more freer lives even as pockets of virus continue to spring up around us, case data per 100,000 people has become an important figure, determining where around the world requires quarantine at either end, and where local lockdowns might be reimposed, even as countries remain broadly open at a national level.
Increasingly, though, as businesses and communities alike look to get back to something approaching normal, it is clear even more granular data is the secret to building the confidence needed for a full economic restart.
With economies around the world already lurching into recession, businesses and workspaces want – and need – to stay open as much as possible. They also understand, though, that they need to do this in a way which protects their staff, and enables maximum productivity with minimum risk.
Building the confidence to do this is particularly crucial in the UK, where office workers are returning more slowly than those in other big European cities. Just one third of UK workers are back in their offices compared with more than two-thirds in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, according to a survey by US bank Morgan Stanley.
Key to living, working and travelling in our new post-Covid normal is understanding at an individual and local level the exact risk faced at any time. Key to staying on top of the virus, in turn, relies heavily on spotting mini outbreaks or clusters before they have time to develop, and being able to alert anyone who may be infected that they need to isolate, hopefully breaking the transmission chain.
That’s where digi.me’s new Consentry app comes in. Employees – as well as visitors and customers – can download the app and provide a daily self-assessment of how they are feeling, and whether they have any Covid-19 symptoms, or have been in close contact with someone who has them. They can then share this data – anonymously – with their employer.
Crucially, this granular data from staff feeds back into keeping their workplace, and their colleagues, as healthy as possible, and – crucially – confident about the exact risk they face on any given day. By checking in and out of meeting rooms and zones around a workplace, enabled by a system of easy-to-use QR codes, Consentry can also be used for effective and efficient contact tracing if a case does emerge, as well as for early signposting of areas which may need to be deep cleaned.
Consentry has been created through a partnership between digi.me and leading Dutch data analytics firm DTACT. Designed as a privacy-first solution to help get businesses back to normal while respecting employee privacy, Consentry gives confidence to business owners and employees and allows everyone locally to play a part in the national effort. Click here to find out more, including how to set up a free trial.