In a bid to intensify surveillance, the Punjab government has partnered with IIT-Madras experts to use technology to track patients and identify super-spreader gatherings in the past that have resulted in the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
To trace COVID-19 patients’ movement over 15 days, the government will be using their mobile tower location. This data procured from telecom companies will be then used to declare micro-containment zones – small pockets in a city like a street or a mohalla which are identified and where all activity is sealed to curb further spread of the virus.
According to Ajoy Sharma, ex-officio secretary, Health, Punjab, IIT-Madras provides them with data from telecom companies and helps with getting the tower location. This data is also collated with the data from COVA app and people entering Punjab from other parts of the country are also watched, reported The Indian Express.
‘This was enabling the IITians to check which all areas the COVID positive patient had gone to in the past,’ he told the media. However, to ensure privacy, the experts were not given the names of phone users, he added.
‘Only a number ID was given. It was then collated by local authorities to check where all the person had gone with the virus. This helps us identifying potential hot spots and we are prepared in advance instead of waking up to a spread later,’ Sharma said.
In addition, the state is also using the technology to check the movement of attendees in a super spreader party in a hotel or a restaurant.
‘With the help of the system, we will intensify our contact tracing. We will be able to know in advance where a spike could be there and we will take measures to check further spread. It is now a targeted approach. We are also training our people to evolve the system,’ Sharma said, adding that the technology is more helpful in larger cities with a dense population.
After tracing the movement of several patients, the government had used the data to declare a micro-containment zone in Ludhiana.
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