GIS in the Frontline Against COVID-19

COVID-19 is undoubtedly one of the biggest pandemics the world has faced and the crisis can reach unmanageable proportions without timely actions from the authorities. Technology is playing a big role during COVID-19 by keeping the world connected, maintaining business continuity, and providing intelligent tools for the authorities to control and manage COVID-19. 

 GIS and big data have come to the forefront to assist the authorities in monitoring the outbreak. From providing invaluable location intelligence on the spread of COVID-19 in a region to timely analytics for responding to the unfolding events, GIS is proving to be a key player in this battle.

 COVID-19 is a rapidly progressing pandemic that evades containment due to its asymptomatic spread. With geographic information, authorities can track the locations of spread, monitor the suspects, and also identify the vulnerable population for informed decision-making. It can also help in contact tracing and monitoring the high-risk clusters. Hence, location intelligence emerges as an important weapon in our arsenal to manage the spread of COVID-19.

 How Geographic Information Services can help during COVID-19

 We had utilized GIS in combating outbreaks of infectious diseases in the past. Recently, the WHO and CDC  had used the geospatial services successfully for contact tracing and identifying the high-risk zones during the outbreaks of Ebola, SARS, and Zika.

 The potential of GIS can be harnessed during the current crisis as well and international bodies such as WHO, national, and local governments are already resorting to location intelligence to monitor COVID-19. Geospatial services help to analyze the source of the outbreak, identify the pattern of spread, and understand the effectiveness of social distancing. Robust mapping solutions assist to accurately depict the data on maps and enable informed decision-making.

 Here are the primary benefits of using GIS to control COVID-19.

●      Contact tracing by mapping the travel history of the COVID-19 cases and further enforcing quarantine of the suspects. With GIS authorities can enforce absolute compliance to home quarantine.

●      Geo-fencing of the COVID suspects and tracking them with an alert system. The authorities receive an alert notification when the suspect crosses the surveillance zone. The Kerala Disaster Management Authority, the Gujarat Government, and the Telangana Government have used geo fencing services to enforce quarantine compliance.

●      Mapping the confirmed COVID-19 cases along with the recoveries and fatalities.

●      It can monitor risk groups such as the elderly population or those with pre-existing conditions.

●      We can leverage big data from multiple sources to predict the spread pattern.

●      Identify the hot spots and the epidemic zones using GIS supported augmented reality incorporated into 2D/3D maps.

●      GIS can map the medical resource and capacity and thereby evaluate future demand based on the COVID-19 spread pattern. Authorities get a clear idea of the needs of the health care infrastructure in terms of bed capacity, PPE, and ventilators. Any capacity gap would be revealed and measures can be taken to ensure a continuous supply.

●      Communicate information to the public and the partners through maps and maintain an informative channel for the public to respond.

●      GIS and big data can also help to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the local economy in terms of unemployment, bankruptcies, or social issues such as domestic violence or child abuse.

●      Businesses can use GIS to map the travel history of the employees and assist them to comply with the government norms.

 Hence, GIS can be a powerful technology that authorities can leverage effectively to flatten the curve of COVID-19. It can help them take preventive measures, enable control, and enforce surveillance.

 SBL Corp is a leading knowledge organization providing accurate geospatial services for the past decade. Equipped with the latest technologies to collect reliable spatial information, we provide powerful GIS solutions to control the spread of COVID-19.  SBL also offers an innovative Home Quarantine Tracker Solution to help authorities enforce complete home quarantine of the suspects.

 Let’s utilize technology to fight COVID-19 intelligently.