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The model, based on 13-year-old code for a long-feared influenza pandemic, assumed that the demand for intensive care units would be the same for both infections. Data from China soon showed this to be dangerously wrong, but the model was only updated when more data poured out of Italy, where intensive care was swiftly overwhelmed and deaths shot up.

It did not consider the impact of widespread rapid testing, contact tracing and isolation, which can be used in the early stages of an epidemic or in lockdown conditions to keep infections down to such an extent that when restrictions are lifted the virus should not rebound.

International and national laws recognize that extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures. This means that certain fundamental rights, including the rights to privacy and data protection, may be restricted to address the current health crisis as long as basic democratic principles and a series of safeguards are applied, and the interference is lawful, limited in time, and not arbitrary.

Special legal orders and measures should be written and broadcast, and disseminated broadly in appropriate languages and forums. They must have a sunset clause; indefinite term measures are not acceptable. Potential extension could be considered if necessary, but extraordinary measures must be limited in their severity, duration, and geographic scope. Governments and authorities must take every measure to restore regular rules as soon as possible at the end of a special legal order.

The National Health Institute of​ Perú​ developed a platform where you can consult the health reports of patients who were tested for COVID-19 by entering their national identity document. For a few days, the information was therefore accessible to the public, not limited to the patient. After receiving criticism, the national 10 authorities included a second authenticator. To connect to the platform, an SMS-based code is now necessary. 11

We propose forming a data collective: a conscious, coordinated effort by a group of organisations with expertise in gathering and using data in the charity sector. We want to make sure that people in charities, on the front line and in leadership positions have access to the information they need, in a timely fashion, in the easiest possible format to understand, with the clearest possible analysis of what it means for them.