obvert
Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011 From: PDX (and now) London, UK Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn Fauci: Coronavirus immunity cards for Americans are 'being discussed' The proposal, already being implemented by German researchers, is under consideration in the United Kingdom and Italy. 04/10/2020 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/10/fauci-coronavirus-immunity-cards-for-americans-are-being-discussed-178784 "Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, revealed Friday the federal government is considering issuing Americans certificates of immunity from the coronavirus, as the Trump administration works to better identify those who have been infected and restart the U.S. economy in the coming weeks. "You know, that's possible," Fauci told CNN's "New Day," when asked whether he could imagine a time when people across the country carry such forms of identification." "Asked Thursday about various methods of monitoring Americans who have come into contact with those who are infected, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said "people are looking at all the different modern technology that could be brought to bear to make contact tracing more efficient and effective." "Are there more, if you will, say, tech-savvy ways to be more comprehensive in contact tracing versus the old fashioned way? You know, currently, these things are under aggressive evaluation," Redfield told NPR. " Whatever it is, my bet is that it has a chip or a digital component, possibly a scannable code, to check the profile if questioned for any reason. Could be another way our data is collected and distributed, used, abused. The UK's health secretary, Matt Hancock, has suggested "something like an immunity certificate or a wristband" in the future. The premise is that those who have already contracted and overcome the virus are no longer at risk of spreading it and should be free to work, and would get some proof of this. That is why biometric ID cards have been proposed. However, the UK doesn't have an identity card system. Theresa May, then the Home Secretary, repealed the legislation, telling parliament: "The national identity card scheme represents the worst of government. "It is intrusive and bullying, ineffective and expensive. It is an assault on individual liberty which does not promise a greater good." Introducing such a system today - even to help find a way through the devastating coronavirus crisis - would be likely to again face significant opposition. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-could-biometric-id-cards-offer-the-uk-a-lockdown-exit-strategy-11970628
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