One alternative that seems to work decently well is a cooperative society with a piece of paper where you share your phone number when needed. That's what Taiwan is doing and it works pretty well. But it only works because there is a base level of trust that the information is not misused. There is no such trust in the US and other places.
I hadn't heard about the paper-based phone number sharing approach in Taiwan - do you have a link where I could find out more about that, out of interest?
Perhaps similar or related, I'd read that Taiwan's using an alert system[1] that uses the absence of cell phone activity as a sign that it may be necessary to check on the owner.
I don't really have a link. Taiwan uses triangulation to make sure you stay in place once you've been detected as someone who has been in contact.
Some places have digital access but in general the temperature measurement of bigger buildings are automated. But most places I went to had a paper form to fill out your details. I assume those are shared with law enforcement and CDC once one person who attended the building has been traced as a positive case and then all people and their contacts will be notified and tested.
There is no centralized government mandated central database that I know of. But I do know that once a crime happens they're quite good at tracing your public movements.
I agree that trust has been eroded over the years. US is also a more individualistic society, which means individuals are less willing to sacrifice self for whole. I don't want to cast too wide a net, but asian countries tend towards society orientation. Heavens know I could not live long in Japan.
