The Commons Project and the World Economic Forum are piloting an initiative right now called the CommonPass framework, and a number of airlines, including Lufthansa and Swiss International Air, are expected to start rolling it out before the end of the year.

What the CommonPass does is allow people and travelers to verify their health status via a digital certificate on their phone. Right now it can confirm that you've tested negative for COVID-19 and eventually it will confirm if you've received a valid vaccination.

The framework also asks countries to publish their travel entry criteria in a standard format, so that it's easy to update and it can be globally understood.

Of course, much like all of the exposure alert apps that are out there, this is only really useful if people and companies actually start using it. But the travel industry knows that for customer confidence to return, people are going to need to feel safe again. And a digital health pass is one way to help with that.

Here is a short video explaining how the CommonPass works. If you can't see it below, click here.

Back in March and April, there was a belief that big and dense cities were going to pose a serious problem in the fight against COVID-19. The narrative was that the benefits of urban density suddenly flip to glaring negatives during a pandemic. Elevators are a problem. Public transit is a problem. Busy streets and public spaces are a problem. Instead of density, you want dispersion. There was also some speculation that COVID-19 cases would be somewhat correlated with colder climates.

The data that we are seeing today suggests the opposite. Note the above chart by Axios. On a per capita basis, COVID-19 cases are now the lowest -- and below the national average -- in large US cities with populations greater than 1 million people. Where cases are the highest, again on a per capita basis, is in rural areas. Non-metro areas less than 10,000 people. The county with the highest rate also isn't the coldest of places. It's Childress County, Texas, where the rate is about 1,265.3 cases per 100,000 people.

I have a lot of questions about the most important factors affecting transmission rates. Is mask wearing, for example, more important than average temperatures? What is the impact of socio-economic status? I am seeing maps that, unfortunately, suggest this plays a meaningful role. What is really driving these so-called "hot spots?" But what seems clear to me is that density is not necessarily destiny during this pandemic.

P.S. Here's a related article on hospital capacities across the United States.

Chart: Axios

One of the things that I don't think we are doing a good job of here in Canada is promoting our COVID Alert app. Most of the people I talk to don't seem to have it installed on their phones. And most of the people I talk to seem to be nervous about sharing personal information with it, including their location. (That's not actually how the app works.)

The thing with exposure alert apps is that they're only really useful if most people are using them. And they're only really useful if people who test positive for the virus enter the code that they are given into the app. So it relies on us trusting that other people will do the right thing. I get that. But those same shortcomings apply when we just ask someone if they've been exposed to anyone with COVID-19.

I could be wrong, but my view on this is pretty simple.

If everyone who had COVID-19 got immediately sick and showed highly discernible symptoms, then this virus would likely be a lot easier to control. Part of the problem, as I understand it, is that some people get really sick and some people don't get sick at all. But these latter people can still unknowingly spread it around -- perhaps to other people who might get really sick.

Given this variability, it's critical for us to know who has been potentially exposed and who has not been exposed. Otherwise, we're running around mostly blind. From what I can tell, exposure alert apps are one of the best ways for us to track transmission. But, of course, it only works if you've got the app. For those of you who don't already have it, you can download it for both iOS and Android by going here.

P.S. I'm writing this post because it came up with my barber today while I was getting a haircut. He wasn't all that aware of the app, but he ultimately concluded that we have a problem of education and that he was going to download it. Maybe some of you will do the same after reading this.