By Maya Belle
During the coronavirus pandemic, we seem to be using technology more than ever. With online education, to telehealth, to health sensors, technology is playing a big role in combating this virus.
When schools and universities were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, over 1.57 billion students were impacted in 191 countries. To still provide an education to students, many schools implemented online classes through Zoom, an application which allows students to meet with their teachers and be taught remotely at home through their devices. Some applications that have been used have also had to do with virtual and augmented reality and 3D printing.
Telehealth is also playing a major role in healthcare, and is quite effective in monitoring symptoms and recording data. Chatbots and wearable IoT devices aid in tracking symptoms on patients, and can make remote treatment easier for both doctors and patients. However, it can be difficult to ensure that Telehealth is covered by insurance, and in places where healthcare costs can be unbearable to pay off for the average consumer, regulations need to be rewritten to ensure the fiscal security of patients during the pandemic.
In China, health sensors are being used to monitor citizens and their coronavirus symptoms. The Chinese government created a partnership between them, Alibaba and Tencent to create an app that uses colours to indicate if people are allowed in certain public spaces. Red, yellow and green are the colours used, and green colour citizens would be allowed to travel into public spheres when they used a specific QR code at public places such as metro stations and offices. There are also checkpoints in most public areas which can monitor a person’s body temperature. This method was so widespread that almost 200 Chinese cities implemented it.
In conclusion, technology is changing the way we navigate our world, and is building the foundations for a new age of digitally powered development.
Sources
https://www.geospatialworld.net/article/the-sino-approach-use-of-technology-to-combat-covid-19/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/04/13/coronavirus-online-school-homeschool-betsy-devos/5122539002/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/04/13/coronavirus-online-school-homeschool-betsy-devos/5122539002/
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