How can technology help overcome and adapt to the Covid-19 situation?

COVID-19 Outbreak has caused and still causing a mess to the world.

The Coronavirus pandemic leads humanity to counter its danger by taking

some precautious measures. In this report I am going to pinpoint the most

important technologies and information systems that helped the world adapt

to this serious situation. There are four main fields which aided greatly in this

crisis. These fields are the education, health sector, trading ( commerce ) and

Government. The question raised here is: How can these technologies and

systems help stopping or adapting our current situation?

Let us start with Education. COVID-19 Outbreak Pandemic started in

December 2019. Since that date, the educational systems in all countries

started working on some smart measures. For example, when the world

started the curfew, students were prevented from going to school as a

precautious method to stop the infection. Did this move cease our students

from learning and studying? The answer is no. Let’s take Saudi Arabia as an

example. Schools and Universities in KSA began to use Distant learning

(studying and learning online). This allowed the process of teaching, learning

and studying to continue. Thanks to the internet and many educational

applications people can get to endless sources of knowledge and information

easily. For instance, there is Zoom software. This software is used in distance

meetings between supervisors. Teachers could use it with students to study

in virtual classes. Zoom wasn’t the only software used, but there are many

other sources like Ien National Education Portal, Future Gate and The Unified

Educational System. Ministry of Education has spread educational online

drills and instructions of the correct ways to deal with Covid-19 to increase

awareness.

When we mention Covid-19 outbreak, of course Health Ministry must be

mentioned. Dr.Tawfig Al-Rabiah ( the minister of health ) gave his orders and

instructions to the whole health sector to take strict procedures. Hospitals

started their preparations to increase the number of rooms and beds to

adapt to the recent figures of infected cases. They also provided thousands of

medical respiratory equipment. The minister asserted to the citizens through

the media to stay at their homes and never go out except for necessity.

Furthermore, he made our scientists working to find a curing vaccine for

Covid-19. In addition, the ministry encouraged the use of Digital Health. It is

a reliable source for medical information including information of the new

virus. For example, the citizens can use The Health App introduced by The

ministry of health to get any medical information they need. The app allows
audio or video calls with real doctors and give initial examination of

suspected Covid-19 cases.

There are changes made in the field of trading to resist the international

spread of Covid-19. One of the steps made by Saudi Arabia was to encourage

shopping online. People started buying everything they need ( especially

every day needs like dairy products and bread ) through e-commerce

platforms. Danube e-commerce platform is one of many platforms which

exist now. When people order something from Danube supermarkets online,

the service offers free delivery to your house. This way people will be safe at

their homes and it will greatly reduce or prevent the virus outbreak.

However, those people who still go outside for shopping, they must abide by

strict instructions. The shops must provide sanitizers, gloves and masks ( if

possible ) for the customers to use them. They also must keep distance in

lines; one metre to two metres distance between everyone. The carriages

must be sanitised frequently. Finally, when customers leave the shops, they

must throw their plastic gloves in plastic bins.

The Government of Saudi Arabia has taken brave and smart steps in

fighting Coronavirus. It supported the private sector financially through

Monetary Agency. The Agency has supported the private sector by more than

fifty billion riyals. In addition, the government put some rigorous restrictions
in all the Kingdom’s sectors. One of the restrictions is complete lockdown on

many cities like Makkah and Riyadh. Nobody could get in or go out these

cities in order to trap the virus and stop it from spreading. Another restriction

is closing borders. Saudi Arabia has closed its borders to many neighbouring

countries temporarily. This step is a very strong one in the fight against

Covid-19. It stops potentially infected people from getting inside KSA without

a valid visa from other countries and thus, it helps the government to take

control of the situation with ease.

Since the first appearance of Covid-19 in Wuhan in China, the Chinese

government worked so fast to deal with this great threat. It took few months

to control the situation. However, when we compare it to the same situation

they had in 2002, this time China managed to almost finished the danger

faster than before ( referring to SARS ). The technology is developing at rapid

speed and the Chinese government used it to its benefit. Chinese officials

used positioning technologies to precisely pinpoint the whereabouts of the

outbreak and its pattern. They also used robots to do their work at hospitals.

The robots were taking thermal images of its surroundings, cleaning and

sanitizing. These robots were like a shield to prevent the spread of this virus.

Health sensors and apps were used in China ( and many other countries

later ) to spread awareness and give quick accurate diagnostic tests. Using
drones was a strong strategy for monitoring and sanitizing purposes through

the sky. These were some of the most technologies used in China and it

greatly helped in controlling this pandemic.