Number of Deaths have gone viral, but modern technology-based solutions can also go viral
19th March 2020.
It has been spreading at ferocious speed. World in 2019 expressed such spread as 'it has gone viral'. The tweet, post or video going 'viral' means in short time huge number of people noticed it.
WHO release today (19th March 2020) sated that the number of confirmed cases worldwide for COVID19 has exceeded more than 200 000. It took just over three months to reach the first 100,000 confirmed cases, and only 12 days to reach the next 100,000. New one-day-deaths on 18th March numbered 828 , making total of more than 10,000.
In more popular words new CORONA virus has LITERALLY gone viral!
Good news is that the modern and digital TECHNOLOGIES also have potential to go 'viral' with the rapid development of ammunition like strategies, tactics and tools to address and defeat COVID19.
With the emergence of COVID-19 virus, many uncertainties still remain after 3 months when it was detected remain related to virologic characteristics of new Corona and identifying antibodies and associated disease.
Studies to assess these characteristics in different settings are critical to furthering our understanding of New Corona Virus. They will also provide the robust information needed to refine forecasting models and inform public health measures.
Importantly, these studies also have to proceed with ferocious speed. They also need to go viral! We need to be ahead of the exponential rise of CORONA Virus and faster than its speed of proliferation. No place other that University campus equipped with research labs and the powerful young brains is better suited to do just that.
Smart Campus Cloud Network -sccnhub.com a global network of universities initiated by TERRE Policy Centre of which Prof Thomas is Senior advisor and I am Chairman, would play important role in bringing the innovative research on COVIDE19 in focus. Using the smart technologies and the digital dash board would allow the space shared and collaborative research.
Just like COVID19 is disrupting societal practices, SCCN can also disrupt the way research is being carried out in the world. There are four dimensions for modern technologies that can prove to be counter to the COVID 19 :
Awareness, surveillance and data systems for all strata of the societies.
Alert systems , interactive e-responses system (for example Google Assistant), to reach to aged , remote and excluded population, differently-abled section of the society, e-learning modules with the next-best practices for prevention.
Diagnosis with faster testing, interactive testing-data , tracking the patients and recording measures to take actions to save life.
Treatment through secure, web-based, communication platform for maximum reach to mobile users and voice or video outreach when appropriate for integrated virtual care & patient engagement. Developing a secure, consolidated database for real-time monitoring and epidemiological evaluation for whole of society.
COVID19 could be the opportunity to learn lessons and can serve as laboratory for the dealing with the future calamity. Digitalised data would also help in developing case studies that would be useful in ensuring that the next epidemic and next crisis, for example, climate change, would not catch us napping.