Pandemic Planning and Digital Technology

Digital technology are integrated into planning, surveillance, testing, contact tracing, quarantine, and clinical management to remediate the COVID-19 outbreak. Data can be accessed for monitoring the outbreak and also it can be used for modelling studies. Digital tools are being used for communication and public health education. AI and deep learning can also be for initial screening of the patients. Integration of digital technology into policy and healthcare could provide opportunities for the effective management of the above mentioned strategies 

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//www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0824-5

//www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589750020301424

The COVID-19 disease, caused by the Novel Corona Virus has caused havoc around the globe. In this new era of digitalization, the use of digital technology has been ubiquitous in fighting the pandemic. Digitalization through various measures will help reach people and communicate with them easily. Through digitalization, data on disease spread can be retrieved in a more organized and easier way. Through the digital platform, authorities can provide trustworthy, reliable, and timely information and advice about COVID-19. Providing information at the national level through several national and international portals helps other countries make appropriate decisions to fight the pandemic. In today's world where most urban population has a smartphone at hand, it becomes easier for authorities to provide guidance, travel restrictions through social media platforms and mobile applications. It can also help authorities track the movement of the people through GPS, which can help track down violators making enforcement of restrictions easy. Social media is one of the biggest and fastest platforms to spread information. Various multimedia approaches through audio, videos which are very interactive and provide the right information will make sure everyone is aware. One main issue with this is the spread of misinformation because anyone has the right to put up anything especially on those social media platforms where conversations are encrypted. Utmost care has to be taken so that such misinformation is not spread. Through various online platforms which collect data, compile them, and show facts can be very beneficial in understanding the epidemiology of the disease and thereby help in designing response strategies against the pandemic. Every hospital or clinic health center should be bound to report all COVID cases appropriately including their demographic details. Through this, it becomes easier to tabulate, analyze and represent the data in such a way that it makes sense. With several softwares which can do this in minutes, digitalization has therefore paved the way to advances in epidemiology and timely and appropriate pandemic response. Another major issue is the accessibility and availability of these digital platforms to those who can't afford them or don't have them. Hence, implementing these measures in a large and universal scale becomes difficult. Yet, the emergence of such technological measures has made way for several start-up companies which are focused on software development in helping the people and its government control the pandemic through their innovative ideas brought forward to help people fight the pandemic. The benefits of digitalization will, even if we don't appreciate them outweigh the risks if not misused in any fraudulent manner or to spread misinformation. 

@kamalpreet

Agreed Kamalpreet, here is another article corroborating your viewpoint. This review article (1) talks about the role of digital technologies in public health response to COVID-19. Further it discusses limitations and implementation barriers (legal, ethical, privacy, organizational and workforce) of the digital innovations. The authors also emphasize on the significance of digital technologies for future pandemic preparedness, for which international strategies should be aligned for the regulation, evaluation, and use of digital technologies.

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//www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-1011-4#Abs1