Nationwide rollout reveals efficacy of epidemic control through digital contact tracing

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of digital contact tracing using data from the rollout of the Norwegian contact tracing app, Smittestopp. The study found a technological tracing efficacy of 80%, with at least 11% of discovered close contacts being unidentified by manual tracing. Digital contact tracing was also shown to identify individuals with excessive contacts, potentially containing superspreading events. Efficacy strongly depends on app uptake, but significant impact is achievable even with moderate uptake. The findings suggest that digital contact tracing, used as a supplement to other measures, can be instrumental in pandemic control.

Ahmed Elmokashfi, Joakim Sundnes, Amund Kvalbein, Valeriya Naumova, Sven-Arne Reinenmo, Per Magne Flørvaag, Håkon Kvale Stensland, Olav Lysne