Aiding the State in its war against COVID-19 are the digital samurai whose technical expertise is helping the government combat the virus.
The Disha call-in facility is at the forefront of the campaign against COVID-19, with its team of social work volunteers assisting callers to get information on the care to be taken or whether to be referred to treatment.
The network works on the Oricom software developed by the OrisysIndia Consultancy Services, a Technopark-based start-up that has a social support history of its own.
GoK Direct is the app that would be on the Keralites’ phone now, giving info on everything from the Chief Minister’s announcements to the latest figures.
Developed by Qkopy, a Kozhikode-based start-up, this app disseminates information in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi.
“We are now in talks with WhatsApp officials to launch a National Health Mission account that has an auto-reply mechanism,” says Arun Perooli, founder and CEO of Qkopy.
Travel history
Another major digital venture is to track patient travel history.
The flow charts put together by the technical workforce of the Information Technology (IT), Health and Police Department had become popular as a one-of-a-kind exercise in a pandemic scenario.
Kerala State IT Mission is now turning its focus on specific interventions. For example, platforms are being planned for those in isolation wards to directly interact with the authorities and for the public to report on suspected cases.
“We are in talks with some start-ups,” says Chithra S., IT Mission Director.
One such platform already in place is the COVID Tracker. The web application does contact list tracking, and health and test status of the suspects, and provides reports that form part of the State’s database. This is purely for internal use.
“We are updating the platform based on the developments,” says Vivek J. Babu, chief operating officer of ThoughtRipples Technologies Pvt Ltd., that developed the tracker.
More web platforms are being put together as the government plans to scale up its combat against the COVID threat.
Care centres
“The immediate need is for two kinds of corona care centres, one at the primary care level and the other with quarantine facilities. The module has already been approved,” says Usha Titus, Secretary, Higher Education.
The IT Mission plans to aid the local bodies and voluntary caregivers who would be part of this module with data.
“To put together a database, we will take the help of ration card data, the Akshaya centres and Kudumbashree workers,” Ms. Chithra says.
For several such projects, the authorities await support from software engineers. Their aim is to streamline all platforms so that access becomes easier.
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