A ‘Shield for Schools’ is being launched with one of the UK’s top boarding schools implementing an independent Track and Trace system for COVID-19. This system is being implemented by Fimatix. This company is a leading Fintech and Govtech business. Fintech is the technology that is used to support or enable banking and financial services. Govtech, on the other hand, is about applying emerging technology (such as AI) to improve public services by increasing efficiency and lowering costs.
‘Shield for Schools’ is a track and trace system that has been developed specifically for schools. This system uses Bluetooth wristbands that are linked to a control system to allow the school to detect and isolate those who have come into contact with those who have been infected with COVID-19.
Buckswood School in East Sussex is the first in the UK to implement Fimatix’s independent track and trace system. However, it is expected to see this system be implemented in schools across the country.
The Managing Director for Financial Services at Fimatix, Tim Howarth, had said that the ‘Shields for Schools’ was created in order to play a positive role in management risk.
Kevin Samson from Buckswood had commented that, “Shield for Schools is an extremely useful tool in being able to quickly provide important information to Public Health England and the NHS should there be a need to track and trace individuals outside of our school community. It allows us to minimise wider isolation of staff and students, thus minimising the impact on education for all whilst at the same time providing an extra layer of reassurance for parents.”
The algorithm itself for Fimatix’s track and trace system has been designed by medical experts. As well as this, it has been said that only the school will be able to access and manage data that relates to both the staff and pupils.
The ‘Shield for Schools’ system works in three steps. If a student or teacher report hat they’ve tested positive or feel unwell, the data will be logged by an administrator and the individual will be isolated. Next, cross-checking the specific wristband ID with other wristbands on the Shields for Schools dashboard. The school will then further isolate those who have come into contact with the ID and may retest others.
There is also total disregard for peoples right of privacy, data protenction or human rights, but we will explore those tech related issues in a later post.
