Instruct: Identify the main category of Medrxiv papers based on the titles and abstracts
Query: Effectiveness of digital contact tracing for COVID-19 in New South Wales, Australia BackgroundDigital proximity tracing applications were rolled out early in the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries to complement conventional contact tracing. Empirical evidence about their benefits for pandemic response remains scarce. We evaluated the effectiveness and usefulness of  COVIDSafe, Australias national smartphone-based proximity tracing application for COVID-19.

MethodsIn this prospective study, conducted in New South Wales, Australia between May and November 2020, we calculated the positive predictive value and sensitivity of COVIDSafe, its additional contact yield, and the number of averted public exposure events. Semi-structured interviews with public health staff were conducted to assess the applications usefulness.

ResultsThere were 619 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 25,300 close contacts during the study period. COVIDSafe was used by 137 (22%) cases and detected 79 (0{middle dot}3%) close contacts. It had a positive predictive value of 39% and a sensitivity of 15%, and detected 17 (0{middle dot}07%) additional close contacts that were not identified by conventional contact tracing. The application generated a substantial additional workload for public health staff and was not considered useful.

ConclusionsCOVIDSafe was not sufficiently effective to make a meaningful contribution to the COVID-19 response in Australias most populous state over a 6-month period. This contrasts optimistic projections from modelling studies about the added value of digitally supported contact tracing. We found no evidence that it adds value to conventional contact tracing, and recommend that their implementation should always include comprehensive effectiveness evaluations.
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The categories of this paper are: therapeutics
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The categories of this paper are: neurology
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The categories of this paper are: dentistry
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The categories of this paper are: environmental
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The categories of this paper are: dermatology
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The categories of this paper are: urology
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The categories of this paper are: genetic
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The categories of this paper are: gastroenterology
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The categories of this paper are: psychology
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The categories of this paper are: informatics
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The categories of this paper are: occupational
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The categories of this paper are: epidemiology
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The categories of this paper are: diseases
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The categories of this paper are: medical
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The categories of this paper are: primary
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The categories of this paper are: critical