We should learn how to fight the COVID-19 Pandemic from the Kerala Model: A mix of technology, sanitation, unity and presence of mind

Here are some facts of the state Kerala amid Coronavirus:

1. It was the first state to report a Coronavirus case in India.

2. The mortality rate of Coronavirus patients is less than 1%. There have been only 4 deaths due to Coronavirus.

3. There are only 123 active cases in the State.

4. Total cases are 468.

So how did the State of Kerala make it possible to contain the cases at less than 500?

Kerala confirmed the first case on January 30. Even when the nation-wide lockdown began on March 23, Kerala has shut down the entire state between 3 and 10 February. In the next few days, the state also established 40 beds in 21 hospitals only for Coronavirus patients. They tracked down everyone who came from outside the country and tested them, and the people they met. In the south Indian state, authorities have used a mixture of telephone call records, surveillance camera footage and phone location data to track down 900 people who may have been in contact with coronavirus patients.

Later, in early March, they shut down the schools and turned prisons into isolation wards. In mid-march, the CM announced a health package of 20,000 crore rupees. Later that month, the Government separated the state into three zones based on the number of active cases. Here is a detailed version of how Kerala fought against the pandemic.

1. Technology

Kerala has already learnt from the Nipah outbreak and made no mistake this time. The start-ups were ready, the health authorities knew whom to talk to, and the people did what they were told.

Robots

In March, Asimov Robotics gave a robot to the Kerala Government to greet people. It had a tray in its hands that dispensed alcohol-based sanitiser while its robot gave information regarding the Coronavirus. The company even said that the doctors could use the robots to nurse coronavirus patients.

Another start-up, Bysh Automations, developed a robot named 'Crony'. The company gave the robot to Vaikom Government District Hospital, where patients and doctors were now using it.

Sophia the AI distributes mask and sanitiser in Kerala

Apps

The State has many mobile app solutions. This has ensured effective quarantining in the state since the very start. A person in Kerala developed the meTrack app to help health workers monitor people under quarantine.

The government also has an app called "Direct Kerala". It is available on the Google Play Store. It provides information and updates related to coronavirus to the users. The app sends daily updates about the number of persons under surveillance, home isolation and the number of suspect cases in English and Malayalam.

The Government also uses the app as a reliable source of information. It uses these numbers to take precautionary measures in the areas under surveillance. The Q-Kopy platform, that helped to develop the app, sends notifications on phones (nay kind) via SMS. This is quite helpful for users who still don’t use smartphones.

Also, Bengaluru-based Dhee Yantra Research labs launched Aham, an interactive platform. It provides authentic information on COVID-19 from the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Apart from English, it also supports Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Marathi and Telugu.

The Government App to track, monitor and update coronavirus patients

Drone Technology

The State Government had also launched the "Project Eagle". In this, the police used 350 drones to monitor if people were following the quarantine guidelines. The AI Aerial Dynamics at the Maker Village developed the unmanned 'Garud'. They claim that Maker Village is India's largest electronic hardware incubator and ESDM facility.

The Startup claims that the drones can travel up to distances of one to five kilometres and a height of 500 metres, depending on the model. This distance travelled is away from where the operator is and it helps the police force implement the lockdown. It can carry weight up to 60 kg. Thus, it facilitates the distribution of essential commodities if there is an emergency.

This is not the first time drone operators in Kerala have stepped in to help. During the floods of 2018 and 2019, they helped find people who were trapped and even made food drops using drones.

Drones used in Kerala

Toilet Monitoring

Samir Dayal Singh, the founder of Humble Shit, has developed a toilet monitoring system. This comes forward as public toilets are a source of the spread of many diseases. The platform will collect data such as the number of people who have used the washroom, total time spent by these people, the number of people inside the toilet, etc. This will help sanitization workers to keep the toilets clean for people still out in open.

Kerala Based Start-up develops toilet monitoring

2. Sanitation

The Government of Kerala introduced a handwashing campaign. On March 15, Health Minister, Smt. K. K. Shailaja inaugurated the campaign names "Break the Chain". It aims to educate people about the importance of public and personal hygiene due to the spread of COVID-19 across the state. In this regards, the government appealed the public to promote break the chain campaign as a safety measure. During this campaign, the government installed water taps with hand wash bottles at public spots of the railway stations and other public places.

Kerala police also launched a sanitation bus to disinfect police personnel who are on duty. These people work to control the public during the nation-wide lockdown against coronavirus. The mobile unit is supposed to go to all places where policemen are deployed. It will disinfect them as they come into contact with a lot of common people on the road.

Additionally, firefighters from 124 fire stations in Kerala have disinfected 8,800 public places across the State. This is in addition to the 921 hospitals and over 5,600 vehicles they attended to since the outbreak was confirmed in Kerala. They use Sodium hypochlorite mixed with water as the disinfectant solution for cleaning public places.

Kerala Fire-fighters disinfect places

3. Unity and Presence of Mind

People have flooded social media with images of social distancing that Kerala people are maintaining while buying essential items. Some examples include standing on earmarked circles and squares that are at least a feet apart. Another example as posted by MP Shashi Tharoor can be seen in this twitter post:

How to maintain physical distance between shopkeeper & customer while buying essential supplies -- the Kerala way! #COVID19India pic.twitter.com/H1djrcFDSO

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 25, 2020

The picture shows a shop owner distributing rations to customers through a makeshift plastic funnel. Many places have replicated these techniques elsewhere, too.

The State has been a model to control the pandemic. It should be taken up by governments, public authorities and public alike.