Potential of ICT in India to Cater Pandemics in Healthcare Sector with Special Reference to Covid-19

Abstract

Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome Corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei province, and has since spread globally, resulting in the ongoing 2019–20 corona virus pandemic. As of 9 June 2020, more than 7.12 million cases have been reported across 187 countries and territories, resulting in more than 406,000 deaths. More than 3.29 million people have recovered. The virus is primarily spread between people during close contact, often via small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing, or talking. The disease has been given official name as COVID-19[1]. Since its outbreak in china, infrared thermometers were used to check the body temperature in order to identify the infected people. Countries like China and Korea started the use of different technologies to detect, track and prevent the spread of this deadly virus. Among the major technologies used are Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep learning. With the invent of 5G technologies, we are able to transfer and process huge amounts of data on a real time basis. Health experts have argued that a key tool at governments’ disposal to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, and which was not around during the 1918 Spanish Flu, is the ability to harness digital technologies to track the spread. At the same time, deployment of contact tracing apps by governments or public health authorities has added to the debate on online privacy and personal data protection.  In this research paper, we discuss the potential application of different information and communication technologies (ICT) like IoT, AI and 5G that can help in (i) Monitoring (ii) surveillance (iii) detection and prevention of COVID-19 and enhancing the healthcare to make it future-ready for any such diseases like COVID-19.