Reading the article and synthesize your findings in a 400-600 word report. The first section summarizes the issue researched, and the second section provides your response to it (e.g., reaction, analysis, or opinion). You are required to garner information from a minimum of 1 source. When writing, practice being concise and to the point.
Entry-level!!
other information is in the file
SummaryResponse
The article “Contact Tracing Mobile Apps for COVID-19: Privacy Considerations and Related Trade-offs” (2020) was written by Hyunghoon Cho, Daphne Ippolito, and Yun William Yu. The article discusses how contact tracing is done during this corona virus pandemic, the privacy issues that are being encountered, and the how they can be countered. First of all, the authors assert that contact tracing is a necessary tool during this crisis and employing technology in this process is one of the best ways to achieve this goal. Secondly, they point out that while mobile apps are essential in achieving this goal of contact tracing, they are also violating the privacy of those suspected to have corona virus and those infected with the virus. Lastly, the authors assert that focusing on the effects of a contact tracing app by ensuring that the app highly guarantees privacy would help the app get the support of the people and be effective in contact tracing during this corona virus pandemic. The main aim of this paper is to summarize the authors’ views and provide my position on the issue.
I strongly agree with the authors that contact tracing is very important during this COVID-19 pandemic and it is the major method that the government, healthcare providers, and local communities are using to stop the spread of the virus. In most scenarios, highly effective contact tracing and case isolation is enough to control a new outbreak of COVID-19 (Hellewell et al., 2020). Employing technology for faster contact is even more effective considering how fast the spread is taking place. However, while doing contact tracing, should we violate privacy? Should we assume that controlling the virus is the most important thing and not protecting people’s information?
First of all, the issue of privacy during contact tracing depends on how the mobile apps are designed and used. For instance, in South Korea where the government has a public database of the patients including their private information, it is easy for tech companies to access that information and any other person associated with those companies. This means a serious intrusion of privacy. So, who should sacrifice or take responsibility? Is it the patient because they got sick? Is it the government because they need to help stop the spread? or is it the companies who had the chance to access the information? This raises even more complexities amidst such a serious crisis. In my opinion, I think all methods including polling-based solutions and mobile apps have privacy risks as there is nothing technology cannot do. Even additional mixing servers and private messaging systems which the authors propose are risky. According to Berger et al. (2020), at this time honest and transparent communication is very important and if this private messaging is used in the wrong way, it could create public mistrust that could affect the whole process.
I would propose that technology be applied in this process but in a very cautious manner. We may fight corona virus by any means now but we start crying in the future over misuse of personal information. Any app to be used in contact tracing must guarantee a high level of privacy, otherwise it could be ineffective.
Conclusion
My article gives my opinion on contact tracing and privacy during this corona virus pandemic. The important thing is that we need to control corona virus, but the question remains, are we doing it the right way? Getting the answer to this question will help us solve both problems at the same time. I believe even if we are handling a serious problem, a person’s privacy is something important to observe.
References
Berger, Z. D., Evans, N. G., Phelan, A. L., & Silverman, R. D. (2020). Covid-19: control measures must be equitable and inclusive.
Cho, H., Ippolito, D., & Yu, Y. W. (2020). Contact tracing mobile apps for COVID-19: Privacy considerations and related trade-offs. arXiv preprint arXiv:2003.11511.
Hellewell, J., Abbott, S., Gimma, A., Bosse, N. I., Jarvis, C. I., Russell, T. W., … & Flasche, S. (2020). Feasibility of controlling COVID-19 outbreaks by isolation of cases and contacts. The Lancet Global Health.
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Language ________/5 · Language errors do not cause comprehension problems · Uses a variety of sentence structures · Correctly uses academic vocabulary |
healthcare
Perspective
On the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak and the
Smart City Network: Universal Data Sharing
Standards Coupled with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to
Benefit Urban Health Monitoring and Management
Zaheer Allam 1,* and David S. Jones 2
1 The Port Louis Development Initiative (PLDI), Port Louis 11302, Mauritius
2 School of Architecture & Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia;
david.jones@deakin.edu.au
* Correspondence: zaheerallam@gmail.com
Received: 31 January 2020; Accepted: 25 February 2020; Published: 27 February 2020
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Abstract: As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) expands its impact from China, expanding its catchment
into surrounding regions and other countries, increased national and international measures are being
taken to contain the outbreak. The placing of entire cities in ‘lockdown’ directly affects urban economies
on a multi-lateral level, including from social and economic standpoints. This is being emphasised
as the outbreak gains ground in other countries, leading towards a global health emergency, and as
global collaboration is sought in numerous quarters. However, while effective protocols in regard
to the sharing of health data is emphasised, urban data, on the other hand, specifically relating to
urban health and safe city concepts, is still viewed from a nationalist perspective as solely benefiting
a nation’s economy and its economic and political influence. This perspective paper, written one
month after detection and during the outbreak, surveys the virus outbreak from an urban standpoint
and advances how smart city networks should work towards enhancing standardization protocols for
increased data sharing in the event of outbreaks or disasters, leading to better global understanding
and management of the same.
Keywords: urban health; smart cities; artificial intelligence; Coronavirus; pandemics; future cities;
Internet of Things (IoT); COVID-19; 2019-nCoV
1. Introduction
The novel Coronavirus outbreak, (previously known as the 2019-nCoV and later renamed
COVID-19 during the writing of this manuscript) is leading to the closure of entire cities in China, and
causing stringent measures to be taken in others. While in distant different continents, far from China
where the virus was first reported, places are being placed on high alert. In Wuhan, where the virus
broke, schools, roads and markets have been shut down [1]. The same is true in Hong Kong, Beijing
and Hubei Province amongst surrounding areas, as precautionary measures are being emphasized
to ensure that the spread of the virus is minimized, and complete and accurate information on the
virus is being obtained [2]. However, the rate of spread of the virus and the uncertainties surrounding
the entire situation has led the World Health Organization (WHO) on 30 January 2019 to declare the
Coronavirus outbreak a ‘Global Public Health Emergency’. WHO determined, however, not to declare
the outbreak a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ (PHEIC) which is a higher level
of declaration. A PHEIC is defined as “an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute
a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially
require a coordinated international response” whose scope may include: serious, sudden, unusual or
Healthcare 2020, 8, 46; doi:10.3390/healthcare8010046 www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare
http://www.mdpi.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7682-5912
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3990-5520
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8010046
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/8/1/46?type=check_update&version=2
Healthcare 2020, 8, 46 2 of 9
unexpected; carries implications for public health beyond the affected State’s national border; and may
require immediate international action [3].
With the world having experienced some notable influenza pandemics in the past, a Global
Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) platform [4] was established and was instrumental
in the rapid sharing of information by the Chinese scientists regarding the emergence of the COVID-19
virus. Through this platform, scientists from other regions were observed to gain access to information
and are, subsequently, able to act in a much faster capacity; like in the case of scientists from the Virus
Identification Laboratory based at Doherty Institute, Australia, who managed to grow a similar virus
in the laboratory after accessing the data shared by the Chinese scientists [5].
Beyond the aspect of pandemic preparedness and response, the case of COVID-19 virus and
its spread provide a fascinating case study for the thematics of urban health. Here, as technological
tools and laboratories around the world share data and collectively work to devise tools and cures,
similar efforts should be considered between smart city professionals on how collaborative strategies
could allow for the maximization of public safety on such and similar scenarios. This is valid as smart
cities host a rich array of technological products [6,7] that can assist in early detection of outbreaks;
either through thermal cameras or Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, and early discussions could render
efforts towards better management of similar situations in case of future potential outbreaks, and to
improve the health fabric of cities generally. While thermal cameras are not sufficient on their own
for the detection of pandemics -like the case of the COVID-19, the integration of such products with
artificial intelligence (AI) can provide added benefits. The fact that initial screenings of temperature
is being pursued for the case of the COVID-19 at airports and in areas of mass convergence is a
testament to its potential in an automated fashion. Kamel Boulos et al. [8] supports that data from
various technological products can help enrich health databases, provide more accurate, efficient,
comprehensive and real-time information on outbreaks and their dispersal, thus aiding in the provision
of better urban fabric risk management decisions.
The above improvements in the healthcare sector can only be achieved if different smart city
products are fashioned to support standardized protocols that would allow for seamless communication
between themselves. Weber and Podnar Žarko [9] suggest that IoT devices in use should support open
protocols, and at the same time, the device provider should ensure that those fashioned uphold data
integrity and safety during communication and transmission. Unfortunately, this has not been the case
and, as Vermesan and Friess [10] explain, most smart city products use proprietary solutions that are
only understood by the service providers. This situation often creates unnecessary fragmentation of
information rendering only a partial integrated view on the dynamics of the urban realm. With restricted
knowledge on emergent trends, urban managers cannot effectively take decisions to contain outbreaks
and adequately act without compromising the social and economic integrity of their city. This paper,
inspired by the case of the COVID-19 virus, explores how urban resilience can be further achieved, and
outlines the importance of seeking standardization of communication across and between smart cities.
2. On the Prospects of Urban Health Data
With the advent of the digital age and the plethora of Internet of Things (IoT) devices it brings,
there has been a substantial rise in the amount of data gathered by these devices in different sectors like
transport, environment, entertainment, sport and health sectors, amongst others [11]. To put this into
perspective, it is believed that by the end of 2020, over 2314 exabytes (1 exabyte = 1 billion gigabytes) of
data will be generated globally [12] from the health sector. Stanford Medicine [12] acknowledges that
this increase, especially in the medical field, is witnessing a proportional increase due to the increase in
sources of data that are not limited to hospital records. Rather, the increase is being underpinned by
drawing upon a myriad and increasing number of IoT smart devices, that are projected to exponentially
increase the global healthcare market to a value of more than USD $543.3 billion by 2025 [13]. However,
while the potential for the data market is understood, such issues like privacy of information, data
protection and sharing, and obligatory requirements of healthcare management and monitoring, among
Healthcare 2020, 8, 46 3 of 9
others, are critical. Moreover, in the present case of the Coronavirus outbreak, this ought to be handled
with care to avoid jeopardizing efforts already in place to combat the pandemic. On the foremost, since
these cut across different countries, which are part of the global community and have their unique laws
and regulations concerning issues mentioned above, it is paramount to observe them as per the dictate
of their source country’s laws and regulations; hence, underlining the importance of working towards
not only the promoting of data through its usage but also the need for standardized and universally
agreed protocols.
While the significance of such data in advancing efficiency, productivity and processes in different
sectors is being lauded, there are criticisms arising as to the nature of data collection, storage,
management and accessibility by only a small group of users. The latter particularly includes select
ICT corporations that are also located in specific geographies [6,14–17]. These criticisms are justified,
as in recent years, big data is seen as the new ‘gold rush’ of the 21st century and limiting its access
means higher economic returns and increased influence and control at various scales to those who
control data. These associated benefits with big data are clearly influencing geopolitical standings,
in both corporate and conventional governance realms, and there is increased competition between
powerful economies to ensure that they have the maximum control of big data. As case in point is the
amount of ‘push and pull’ that has arisen from Huawei’s 5G internet planned rollout [18]. Though the
latter service offers unprecedented opportunities to increase internet speeds, and thereby influence the
handling of big data, countries like the U.S. and some European countries that are key proponents and
players in global political, economic and health landscapes, are against this rollout, arguing that it is a
deceptive way of gathering private data under the guise of espionage. On this, it has been noted that the
issue of data control and handling by a few corporations accords with their principles of nationalism,
and that these work for their own wellbeing as well as to benefit the territories they are registered
in. Therefore, geopolitical issues are expected on the technological front as most large data-rich
corporations are located in powerful countries that have influence both economically, health-wise and
politically [15,19,20]. Such are deemed prized tokens on the international landscape, and it is expected
that these economies will continue to work towards their predominant control as much as possible.
On the health sector, the same approach is being upheld where critical information and data are not
freely shared between economies as that would be seen to be benefiting other in-competition economies,
whereas different economies would cherish the maximization of benefits from such data collections.
3. A High-Level Survey of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
In addition to the obvious deep-rooted social issues related to nationalism, other challenges
include the increasing movement of people globally that is being enhanced by reduced costs and
higher speed. In particular, these challenges are more pronounced when it comes to public health.
This is because most of the health-related data collected not only can compromise local nations, but
also captures those of travelers. In such cases, in a bid to improve the health status of a nation, it
becomes paramount to factor in data from other regions necessitating unhindered sharing of this data.
Such data-sharing truth is emphasized in situations like the recent case of Coronavirus outbreak
threatening the global health environment, facilitated by air transportation. The virus was first reported
in Wuhan, China, and in a matter of three weeks (by 17th January 2020) over 300 cases were confirmed
in that region, and 10 days later (26th January 2020), a total of 2014 cases of Coronavirus have been
reported, with 684 of those being confirmed, and with 29 reported outside China. The fatalities from
the virus stands at 56 as of 26th January 2020 [21]. The virus had then been confirmed in various
countries including Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, France, the United States, Singapore and
Vietnam [22].
In the above case, though major cities are known to prepare themselves for potential outbreaks,
their health policies and protocols are observed to diverge from one another. Thus, without a
global collaborative approach, progress towards working for a cure and universally acceptable policy
approach can take longer. Such fears, of a lack of international collaboration, were highlighted by
Healthcare 2020, 8, 46 4 of 9
the World Health Organization (WHO) during an emergency meeting in Geneva on 22nd January
2020 to determine whether the virus outbreak had reached a level warranting international emergency
concern. However, WHO was satisfied that China was being proactive in this case, unlike in 2002,
when China withheld information on the outbreak for far too long, causing delays in addressing the
epidemic [3]. As in this instance, it is the opinion in this paper that if there was seamless collaboration
and seamless sharing of data between different cities, it would not warrant such a high-level meeting
to result in action, and instead, a decision could have been made much earlier. On this, the saddest
part is that some global cities are less prepared to handle the challenges posed by this type of outbreak
for lack of information on issues like symptoms of the virus, the protective measures to be taken, and
the treatment procedures that an infected person should be processed through, amongst other issues.
The timely response by stakeholders in regard to this new outbreak are commendable compared
to previous cases. The latter includes the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002
that took substantial time (from November 2002 to April 2003) to identify and be dealt with [23]; the
Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2013 that took months to determine; and the Zika Virus that was first
reported in 2014 before being successfully identified in 2015.
With the Coronavirus (COVID-19), it took only 17 days (31st December 2019 to 17th January
2020) to be identified. The sharing of data has also been quicker, as immediately after the virus’
genetic sequence was discovered, Chinese scientists were able to share the information with the WHO,
thus helping in its identification and enabling the auctioning of precautionary measures in other
countries. Latest technological tools have also allowed for the receipt of information in real- time, in
contrast to traditional epidemiological approaches that would have required months to identify the
outbreak type [24]. Similarly, though substantial data and information on the disease has been shared,
Wetsman [25] acknowledges that there is a lack of some vital information, like the ease of spread of the
virus from person-to-person, and this is a key to containing the disease as interactions between people
from different parts of the globe are still active. This hindrance can be made further possible as many
cities advance in their smart and safe city model implementation towards constructing sufficient soft
and hard urban infrastructures equipped with, for example, thermal imagery sensors to allow for early
detections. However, while that is the case, data access to many is a challenge because the information
is often seen as being sensitive for national security reasons, whilst at the same time, acknowledging
that a virus outbreak is an equal threat to both national security and the economy.
4. The Urban Economy and Urban Safety
The outbreak of any disease has significant impacts on local economies across the globe. For
instance, when SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) (SARS-CoV) broke in China in 2002, it
was estimated, that the Asian region incurred tremendous negative impacts socially, health-wise
and economically, potentially amounting to Asian regional economy losses of between USD $12–18
billion from tourism, travel and retail sales industries alone [26]. The Zika virus outbreak, spread by
daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, is estimated to have cost equator-belt local economies in affected
areas between USD $7 and USD $18 billion [27]. The Ebola virus (or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF))
caused an estimated loss of USD $2.2 billion in GDP in three West African economies (Guinea, Liberia
and Sierra Leone) in 2015 alone [28]. In regard to the current epidemic of Coronavirus, though it is
too early to quantify or project its impacts on the global economy, there are fears that it may take the
precedent of other outbreaks where billions of dollars will be lost. The foundations for this escalating
loss can be witnessed in the rapid growth of travel bans being enacted by some countries and their
international airports, especially specifically restricting people from visiting the affected regions in
China and their growth into general non-Chinese travel movements. On this, noting that the outbreak
came almost on the eve of the Lunar New Year celebrations, and that it had been estimated that over
400 million people were expected to travel in different parts of the world and China to observe this
festivity, the majority have had to reconsider their options as to flights, hotels and entertainment events
due to service provider cancellations [29]. Those who had already booked their flights are expected to
Healthcare 2020, 8, 46 5 of 9
receive their refunds following the directive by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, however,
this move has already affected the share value of Chinese airline companies [29].
The above impacts demonstrate that the issues of virus outbreaks transcend urban safety and
impacts upon all other facets of our urban fabric. Therefore, it becomes paramount to ensure that the
measures taken to contain a virus transcend nationalist agendas where data and information sharing
is normally restricted, to a more global agenda where humanity and global order are encouraged.
With such an approach, it would be easier to share urban health data across geographies to better
monitor emerging health threats in order to provide more economic stability, thereby ensuring no
disruptions on such sectors like tourism and travel industries, amongst others. This is possible by
ensuring collaborative, proactive measures to control outbreak spread and thus, human movements.
This would remove fears on travelers, and would have positive impacts upon the tourism industry,
that has been seen to bear the economic brunt whenever such outbreaks occur. This can be achieved by
ensuring that protocols on data sharing are calibrated to remove all hurdles pertaining to sharing of
information. On this, Lawpoolsri et al. [30] posits that such issues, like transparency, timelessness of
sharing and access and quality of data, should be upheld so that continuous monitoring and assessment
can be pursued.
5. Standardization and Data Sharing through the Smart City Network
Virus outbreaks in recent years have shown that, in the urban realm, data, including health data,
can be sourced from diverse places. Presently, in the case of Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, data
is being collected from airports through screening and monitoring, through the use of smart sensors
installed in airport infrastructures and from personnel working in those air/seaports. For instance, it
has been reported that in the U.S.A., screening is being carried out at 20 different airports to ensure
that possible affected people are intercepted for quarantine at the point of entry. Beside airports, as
reported by Buckley and May [2], data is also being collected at bus terminals, market places (in
Wuhan), subways, and also in health facilities where patients are taken for further medical attention.
Such is prevalent especially in China, and other Asian regions where cases of the virus have been
recorded and confirmed.
In addition to these methods, other smart city data sources include the application of terminal
tracking systems that are mostly emphasized in Safe City concepts, where, at the point of entry or
departure, relevant data is collected and analyzed. Li et al. [31] highlights that sensors installed in
such locations have the potential to receive and distribute data in real-time to digital infrastructures
within the network, and their interconnectedness in the network renders them extremely efficient
in providing real-time updates on different issues. Urban areas are also known to be amassed with
numerous Urban Health sensors, some of which are wearable. Though these are not specifically
fashioned to track the present case of virus outbreak, they are able to track other related parameters
like heartbeat, blood pressure, body temperature and others variables, that when analyzed can offer
valuable insights. Loncar-Turukalo et al. [32] hail these devices for their role in transforming the
health care sector especially by allowing for Connected Health (CH) care, where data collected from
them can be analyzed and provide insightful information on the health scenario in any given area.
Vashist et al. [33] further highlight how emerging features such as spatiotemporal mapping, remote
monitoring and management, and enhanced cloud computing capabilities can emanate from such
endeavours, leading to better urban management potential.
While it is true that the basic source of medical data is generally sourced from general practitioners
or medical laboratories—a fact that has also been affirmed in the case of the current epidemic—this
paper explores how data sourced from an urban perspective can contribute to the medical narrative.
The conviction to dwell on the urban realm in this manuscript is based on the fact that the current
epidemic (COVID-19) is transmitted majorly through human-to-human contact, and in most cases,
especially where the spread is reported in a different country, the first point of contact is an urban area,
where large groups of people convene, like airports or subway stations. In most cases, such facilities,
Healthcare 2020, 8, 46 6 of 9
which are mostly based in urban areas, are observed to have installed surveillance technologies to
ensure that anyone showing any symptoms of the disease are identified and quarantined. However,
even in such cases, as underlined in the present manuscript, the need for anonymizing medical data is
emphasized to ensure that the use of current technologies does not breach data privacy and security
requirements, across different geographies. In this case, novel technologies like Blockchain technologies
and quantum cryptography can aid in the discussion and be made to integrate with data collecting
technologies. This would render an increased wealth of data from both the medical field and smart
city operators, while ensuring privacy and security; hence, aiding in providing relevant information
for better informed decisions.
However, despite the indisputable roles that installed devices play in providing relevant health
information, their data communication aspect needs to be reviewed. First, communications are seen to
be geography-restricted (restricted to a given location), such that they seldom expand or communicate
with their like, installed beyond their restricted areas. Secondly, these devices are usually sourced and
installed by separate corporations that maintain unique and specific standards for data processing and
sharing, and accordingly, tying cities to the sole usage of their product(s). Such strategies are adopted
as private corporations try to maximize their economic gains, since the digital solution market is a
lucrative one and is expected to continue growing and expanding [6,7].
For its current application, the standardization of protocols as elaborated in this manuscript need
to be pursued to ensure that there is seamless sharing of information and data. By doing this, it is
expected that issues like burdens of collecting data, accuracy and other complexity that are experienced
(when systems are fragmented) are reduced or eliminated altogether. The standardization can be
achieved by, for example, ensuring that all the devices and systems are linked into a single network,
like was done in the U.S., where all the surveillance of healthcare were combined into the National
Healthcare Safety Network (NHSH) [34]. The fact that cities are increasingly tuning on the concept of
Smart Cities and boasting an increased adoption rate of technological and connected products, existing
surveillance networks can be re-calibrated to make use of those new sets of databases. Appropriate
protocols however have to be drafted to ensure effective actions while ensuring privacy and security of
data and people.
With scenarios like the present Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, that not only impacts upon the
economic status of cities, but also affects their social standing, it becomes imperative to emphasize the
adoption of universal standards for data sharing. Such a move could have far reaching impact across
cities and territories especially in positively combating outbreaks and disasters in a quicker, safer and
standardized way, such that when the cure is discovered, the results can be replicated in various parts
of the globe. With a collaborated data sharing protocol, it would be possible to have a larger dataset
resulting in increased processing capabilities especially with technologies that are powered by artificial
intelligence (AI) tools. Through this way, as noted by Jiang et al. [35] and Allam [36], it would be
possible to facilitate early detection, achieve better diagnosis and provide better urban management
decisions for increased efficiency for virus containment.
An example of how beneficial collaboration and sharing of data can be occurred during the
2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa where scientists, health workers and clinicians, amongst other
stakeholders from around the world, openly worked together and were able to contain the spread of
this pandemic [37]. On this front, Boué et al. [38] highlight that levels of trust and transparency need to
be reviewed and enhanced to facilitate unfettered data generation and sharing. Such could lead to an
even earlier detection scenario of future virus outbreaks, and in the better curative management of the
same, without minimal compromise on urban functions and on an urban economy.
Furthermore, in cases of emergencies like the current outbreak of COVID-19 and any other, the
need for observance of regulatory practices and international healthcare guidelines are paramount.
This would ensure that both healthcare professionals and the general populace are informed, protected
and remain within the prescribed rules and regulations. As noted by the WHO [39], the healthcare
guidelines and regulatory practices are advanced to also ensure that the health risk in question
Healthcare 2020, 8, 46 7 of 9
is reduced together with its consequences. In the current era of technological advancement, such
regulations and guidelines are paramount as they have potential to lead to positive or negative
outcomes. The position of this paper is to advance that it now possible to integrate technologies like
the use of smart devices through IoT networks and wearable devices, data from mobile apps and
others to help users to share information with accredited and certified health professionals, and in this
case, improve the outcomes for better cross disciplinary and more resilient protocols and policies.
6. Conclusions
As the world increases in its ready adoption of the smart city concept, and its related technological
tools, these tools need to be tailored to ensure that liveability dimensions are adequately catered for,
including the thematic of urban health. On this front, it is argued that the lack of standardization
between smart city technology suppliers can lead and is leading to non-communication between cities
and data platforms. Such can, and is, resulting in a non-productive system in the case of virus outbreaks
because early detection and management of the same can become increasingly dependent upon the
technological backbone of smart cities. This paper thus highlights the urgent need to work towards the
standardization of protocols for enhanced smart city communication and the need to democratize the
smart city technology sphere to encourage equity and transparency amongst stakeholders, thereby
providing more possible cooperation in the case of disasters.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, Investigation Writing and Review by Z.A. and D.S.J. All authors have
read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interests.
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2020).
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- Introduction
- On the Prospects of Urban Health Data
- A High-Level Survey of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
- The Urban Economy and Urban Safety
- Standardization and Data Sharing through the Smart City Network
- Conclusions
References
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