Kochi: The Kerala government is considering rolling out the ‘Coronasafe Network’, an open source solution intended to fight and manage COVID-19 cases with real-time information, in other districts as well after its successful trial run in Ernakulam.
The solution aims to reduce the stress on COVID hospitals by reducing patients’ rush.
The plan is to provide a three-pronged approach: to set up ’first line’ treatment centres for those with minor symptoms, ‘secondary’ treatment centres for those who are a little more serious and tertiary treatment centres for those who are critical.
The Adlux Exhibition Centre at Karukutti in Angamly has already been converted into a ‘first line’ treatment centre. It can accommodate up to 200 patients. People with mild COVID symptoms will be treated here. This will reduce the strain on the Government Medical College at Kalamassery, the main COVID treatment centre in the district.
Besides the government COVID hospitals, major private hospitals have also been included in the list of tertiary treatment centres. Critical patients will be put in the intensive care units in these hospitals and ventilators will also be provided.
District control centres will be set up to coordinate the functioning of the three kinds of treatment centres.
Hospitals, ambulances, primary health centres, the telemedicine system, medical stores, sample testing labs, doctors, nurses and other health workers will be put in touch with each other through the control room.
An online module has also been prepared to train health workers in fighting COVID.
‘Coronasafe’, which comes in the wake of the Sprinklr debacle, has been developed by a volunteer group of public health experts, software engineers and government officials.
The group did a trial run of the solution in Ernakulam district. It also demonstrated the platform to the state Crisis Management Group and obtained its approval.
The solution will be supervised by the Health Department and the Disaster Management Authority. The data collected will be stored only on servers that are on the central government’s empanelled list.
As the number of COVID cases rises, real-time information on empty beds in private hospitals, the status of ICUs, and availability of ventilators and ambulances will be crucial and the platform will help keep a tab on them, chief secretary Viswhas Mehta had said.
