How six UC campuses are revolutionizing contact tracing to control the spread of COVID-19

UC Davis and the wider UC system have been contributors to COVID-19 research and COVID-prevention tools since the beginning of the pandemic. One of these tools is California COVID Notify, a contact tracing app that can notify participants when they have had a “high risk contact” with a positive case of COVID-19. Developed by Google and Apple, the technology is currently being piloted at six UC campuses across California. Carrie Byington, the executive vice president and head of UC Health, explained why using a tracing app like California COVID Notify is so helpful in tracking the spread of the virus.

“If you think about your average day and if we hope for a time with fewer restrictions, you might come into contact with many people during the day that you don’t know,” Byington said. “If they’re carrying COVID-19, doing contact tracing can be very difficult if you don’t know their name or where they live. Your cell phone can alert you that you have been in contact with one or more people for 15 minutes that might be COVID positive.”

Although contact tracing has been an important tool throughout the pandemic, Dr. David Lubarsky, the CEO of UC Davis Health, explained that it is not efficient enough to keep up with the virus’s spread, especially as California and many other states are seeing spikes in cases right now. Instead, he said that a technological solution like California COVID Notify is extremely helpful in ensuring that people who have had close contact with a positive case find out in a timely manner.

“It really speeds up, if you’re going to get symptoms, getting a test,” Lubarsky said. “It really unmasks people who are asymptomatic who actually have the virus, because you can’t get it if you haven’t had some sort of high-risk exposure. This really cuts into the spread of the disease because responsible people want to know, and they’re going to test themselves and keep themselves out of circulation until they know that they aren’t at risk anymore.”

The technology is being used across universities and at associated health centers,  including UC Davis and UC Davis Health. Lubarsky explained that the heightened risk of exposure that comes with being on a college campus or in an associated health center makes UC Davis a great place to test the technology.

“One of the reasons we’re originally rolling it out at colleges and universities and health systems is because there’s a very obviously highly-educated population and people who are living in close proximity who are not in the same family, so you can’t really limit your interactions the way you could if you stayed in your own home,” Lubarsky said. “There’s so much community spread right now that no matter how perfect [we are] there’s going to be people who catch it in the community and bring it into the campus or health system. [It’s best to] immediately notify everybody that they may have had a high-risk exposure so that they can protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Lubarsky also stated that by comparing the spread of COVID-19 on UC campuses that are using this technology to the spread on campuses without this technology, they can identify the impact of the app. If there is lower transmission and it is seen affecting the actions of students and staff, the app is working effectively. 

The UC felt inclined to institute this specific tracking app because of its secure privacy restrictions, Byington said.

“This app really made sense for us because of the excellent privacy controls,” Byington said. “It is an anonymous app and no data is stored about the user’s identity, so we felt that it would be an innovative tool and one that our campus populations would be willing to accept.”

If a user of the app comes into close contact with a user who is COVID-19 positive, they will be notified only that they have had close contact. Users do not have access to the name of the person they came into contact with, their phone number or when and where they were exposed. Lubarsky explained that the use of encrypted data protects all users from data abuse.  

“The data never passes through some sort of giant data bank,” Lubarsky said. “There’s no storage of the interactions that we’re having as we pass each other. There’s an exchange of an encrypted chain link that says this person and that person were close together and it’s just stored in your two phones. All the data is just in your phone. There’s no risk of abuse of the data because it doesn’t exist anywhere.”

Byington shared that if this technology proves to help curb the community spread across campuses, she hopes to see it implemented across the state.

“We think it would be a really good option for California,” Byington said. “We think it’s something that many people would want to use and we know that the more people that use it, the more likely we are to be able to identify exposures.”

Lubarsky explained that technology like this, that promotes greater awareness of the virus, will be necessary to control the spread. 

“They say ignorance is bliss and the best state to live in is denial, but that’s not the best way to beat this pandemic,” Lubarsky said. “If we can reduce the spread, we can contain the virus.”
Written by Katie DeBenedetti — features@theaggie.org

Online platforms like Love Campus, created by UC Berkeley students, offer the opportunity to make connections and possibly meet a partner

As dating comes to an abrupt halt during COVID-19, Lena Reibstein, a UC Berkeley third-year studying film and data science and founder of Love Campus, began the show Love Campus as a nationwide alternative for college students to maintain an interactive dating experience during the shutdown. 

Reibstein first created Love is Blind Berkeley, an online platform on Instagram that connected UC Berkeley students through online games and coupling. Inspired by the reality TV show “Love Island,” the organization was structured to combine couples challenges, as well as initially-anonymous profiles, to kickstart connections based on personality instead of physical impressions. Throughout the spring season, other students began to produce Love is Blind accounts for their own colleges in order to organize opportunities for relationships. 

Recently, Reibstein had the idea to consolidate these separate accounts into one general page known as Love Campus. She recruited producers and crew members from each of the other college accounts to produce a show that was open for all U.S. college students. Thus, Love Campus was born from the idea of making dating accessible for students nationwide without foregoing genuine connection.

“[Dating] is about individual choices, who you swipe left on on Tinder, who you meet at a grocery store,” Reibstein said. “It’s become very much up to you to seek that. It’s become very isolated as well […]. It’s become more shallow and looks-based. I think this show gave people the chance to get to know people without photos which is a really enriching opportunity.” 

Love Campus combines the structure of anonymous dating with coupling, and aims to create an environment that allows people to meet organically. The first day, people are placed in an anonymous group chat and communicate with one another. Direct messages are sent and people are able to gauge attraction through conversation and personality. The next day, people are coupled up and encouraged to get to know each other better. 

There are also mini games and challenges each week to foster greater bonds, teamwork and conversations. Couples who win challenges are then granted an online date where they are able to have private conversations with one another. These challenges are documented and then posted on the Love Campus Instagram for the audience to see and react to. To remain as unbiased as possible, all contestants are banned from this account in order for them to form their own opinions. 

Throughout the process couples are allowed to recouple with other people, depending on their compatibility and preferences. Elimination rounds occur every few days with the last couple being crowned the winner. 

“Whenever you’re getting eliminated in any scenario, that’s going to raise your heart rate,” Reibstein said. “I think being in that scenario with someone and going through with that is really effective. The dates and the mini games are structured to build or test connections. When you’re in a place that is designed to build or test your relationship multiple times and you pass [and] grow from those, that can form a bond that is really strong.”  

Designed to eliminate superficial tendencies, Love Campus seeks to build relationships based on interaction and compatibility. Love Campus Producer Daniela Cervantes, a fourth-year at UC Berkeley double majoring in ethnic studies and theater and performance studies, discussed the power of building relationships through their show and the connection they’ve seen among contestants. 

“People’s identities and personalities translate through a screen and are picked up by other people despite them being initially anonymous,” Cervantes said. “Physical attraction isn’t a factor at the beginning. I feel like somehow hotness is still communicated and understood and received even if it’s just through the way they text. Hotness is not a physical thing but an energy that transcends looks.”

Over these two weeks, couples are tested and their compatibility is determined based on their experiences and chemistry with one another. In terms of success, the show has produced multiple couples who will continue to talk after the completion of the show. 

Alana Bright, a first-year USC student studying musical theater, described that she felt an immediate connection with another contestant, Rio. Despite not winning any mini-games, their relationship blossomed and she found herself cherishing the moments of deep conversation and insight with him. She discussed how the show’s producers scheduled  low-pressure events to help foster natural connections. In comparison, she said, real-world dating includes self-inflicted pressure to push the relationship in a certain direction. 

“It’s not just a dating show,” Bright said. “It really penetrates some vulnerable moments and lets you get to know not only a significant other, but people.”

Bright highly recommended the process as a unique opportunity to take part in during this unprecedented time. For her, the show allowed her to create new friends and to meet someone who, coincidentally, also attend USC. 

“What else do you have going on?” Bright said. “Give yourself some time to explore and experiment in a secluded space that does not involve you constantly worried about the pressures of outside life. We can sometimes block ourselves from really meaningful connections out of fear of losing something else or out of fear of something not fitting in a schedule you already have.”

Though season one is completed, season two applications will be open for the upcoming holiday season. Check the Love Campus Instagram for details of when upcoming applications will be released. There will also be applications to work as crew members linked on Instagram. 
Written by: Farrah Ballou — features@theaggie.org