IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021 - 76

Feature
track of that person [23]. The period of investigation
starts at the date when the symptom develops or
even before that and ends at the date of COVID-19
confirmation. They will first identify all the possible
locations patients may have intact with other people
and then fetch the service history from the carriers'
base station to find out all those stayed within the
range for more than 15 min. All of those people will
be considered close contacts and will be notified
through SMS [10]. Then they will receive a polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) test and quarantined at
home for at least 14 days [12].
To achieve cellular tracking, a database of the service
history for each base station is required. This is
kind of similar to Bluetooth contact tracing proposed
by technology giants-Apple and Google [8], [9].
They both require storage of contact history and try
to avoid the trace of the actual user. The Bluetooth
contact tracing system uses a randomly generated ID.
To avoid tracking, it will change every 10-20 min. The
phone opt-in the tracing system will share those random
IDs via Bluetooth to the nearby devices also turn
the system on. When the phone detects a random ID
from another device, it records and stores the ID on
the device's local database. If someone reports testing
positive for COVID-19 and have their ID stored on the
device, the app will determine the possibility of exposure
based on the following rubrics:
* The date when the contact happened.
* How long the contact lasted.
* The Bluetooth signal strength of the contact.
Despite the Bluetooth contact tracing system
makes sure that neither Google, Apple, nor other
users can see your identity and user's real location
is not tracked, this system requires high participation
from a huge amount of users:
* The more people enable it, the more useful the
system can be.
* The user needs to open Bluetooth and keep the
app in the background.
* The user who tested positive must volunteer to
report in the app.
The cellphone contact tracing system, however,
does not require such consent from the user, which
seems to be more effective to identify possible contacts
at an early age. Nevertheless, it is even less accurate
than global positioning system (GPS), so it may take further
consideration to determine possible contacts.
76
Evolving mask policy and
distribution system
Taiwan adopts a border control and strict quarantine
policy amid at outside-in transmission of COVID-19.
Domestically, Taiwan relies heavily on keeping
social distance and wearing a face mask to prevent
the spread of the disease among the community [14].
First stage
From late January to early March, the Taiwan government
introduces a national real-name ration system
to ensure universal access to face masks as well
as fairness and transparency of resource allocation
[11]. The government also imposed an export ban
on the face mask [15]. Yet, a sufficient supply of face
mask is more crucial than just the distribution. Even
though facemask production is not a skill-intensive
industry, there is still a baffling mask shortage during
the early stage of COVID-19.
The reason behind the supply and demand issue
is that first, sourcing raw materials, assembling
machines, and coordinating a production line poses
high transaction costs and requires a substantial
amount of time and efforts. Second, as facemask is
an industry of slim profit margins, massive investment
of the machinery may not guarantee profits in
the future.
How did the Taiwan government ease those concerns?
From late January, the government first coordinates
the entire supply chain by linking upstream
companies to downstream companies in the industry.
Second, it also channeling the capital needed to
the targeted industry. Third, the government would
also support the research and development in
research institutes and industry. Finally, the government
promised to lift the export ban on face mask
once the supply exceeds the domestic needs.
Second stage
From March to early April, the government managed
to improve the policy and system from people's
feedback.
First, the local health authority has a team acquiring
the needs of face masks from different origins.
This data will then be transferred to CECC and were
combined with the previous distribution data. After
the process and analysis of these data, the government
mobilize and allocate the face mask resources
to the place in need. For example, more kid-size face
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021

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