Sarawak’s digital fight against Covid-19
There is no greater chance for technology to shine than during a time of crisis, as solutions are needed with speed and accuracy to stem Covid-19 from spreading. This pushed governments both state and federal to introduce measures to disseminate information on a timely basis as well as conduct contact tracing. The state government is doing so via its i-Alerts and Covid Trace apps, while the federal government has introduced its MySejahtera, MyTrace and Gerak Malaysia. In this edition, BizHive looks into these features and how they are used to gain the upper edge against this pandemic:
In unprecedented times, the Conronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) presents itself as a threat to humanity due to the swift speed at which Covid-19 spreads, with a current death toll exceeding 324,000 cases worldwide as of time of writing.
In response, technology comes as a saving grace to stem the pandemic’s growth. Among the key roles technology is needed for to stop the spread of misinformation as well as track the spread of the virus to enable faster response to hard hit areas.
Enter Sarawak’s i-Alerts App, an official mobile app from the state government to keep Sarawakians up to date with the latest Covid-19 situation in the state.
The app, which was made public in mid-March this year, is managed by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to engage the people of Sarawak in combating Covid-19.
i-Alerts is Sarawak’s official disaster communication and information app to provide Sarawak citizens and residents official and communications during times of disasters including floods, haze, outbreaks and so on, with up-to-the-minute official information of disaster situations as these situations develop.
i-Alerts also enable citizens to notify and report to Sarawak authorit ies of emergency and disaster situations they encounter.
i-Alerts brings together all disaster- related agencies and units to ensure an always accurate and up-to- date situation updates to ensure Sarawak citizens stay constantly informed and in the know with news and videos.
“Effective risk communication is an important aspect of managing Covid-19 outbreak. In a period where uncertainty is abound, communicating advice and guidance is an important public health tool,” said a representative from the Sarawak Multimedia Authority in reply to BizHive.
“Via the i- Alerts App, subscribers are notified on latest news, charts, guidance and advice. On top of these, users can use the i-Alerts report function to tip off the authority of wristband wearers seen in public.”
When MCO was announced, SMA said the state managed to launch and make downloadable this application in less than two days.
This was possible as the state’s digital policy had always emphasised open standard and interoperability, the authority added.
“Hence, an ongoing system could be repurposed with minimal technical changes to become the official channel for disseminating the right pandemic-related information to the public,” it added.
Towards disaster preparedness
i-Alerts is designed to serve as the single integrated disaster platform to address current and future incidents and disasters. It is also the channel for the public to report incidents that can potentially trigger disastrous outcome to the SDMC.
When asked about the app’s ability to maintain the timeliness of its information as well as verification, the representative said there is close collaboration among the organisat ions managing i-Alerts including the State Disaster Management Committee and hence, the accurate information could be published immediately upon release.
“This is also helped by the design of i- Alerts which is based on open- standards that promote swift flow of information for verification, find ability, accessibility, interoperability, reuse and leverage the growth of existing Government Open Data initiatives,” he added.
At the moment of writing, i-Alerts has been downloaded over 40,000 times across the Google Play Store and the Apple
App Store.
“One of the biggest challenges of disaster management is for stakeholders is to be able to discover, access, integrate and analyze task- appropriate data together.
By making full use of existing data in the disaster management sector, i-Alerts will adopt mechanisms that ensure resource verification, find ability, accessibility, interoperability, reuse and leverage the growth of existing Government Open Data initiatives.
Furthermore, i-Alerts serves as the channel for the public to report on disasters directly to the State Disaster Management Committee. The standardization of all Disaster related data and information exchange will then be extend to the use of Big Data.
The f low of information generated by citizens, governments and sensors before, during and after a crisis will be seamlessly analyzed through the i-Alerts platform for comprehensive understanding and effective emergency preparedness for future disaster and crises.
Sarawakians are advised to download i-Alerts on their mobile devices not just to be kept in the loop of the Covid-19 situation, but to also play an active role in helping to contain the spread of the disease.