Vietnam IT companies help to fight pandemic with technology; Covid-19 total at 2,142

People in face masks walk through Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, Friday, Feb.1 2, 2020. A fresh Covid-19 outbreak in Vietnam has slowed down business and travel during the popular lunar new year festival. - AP

HANOI, Feb 13 (Bernama): Many Vietnamese companies have developed IT applications for Covid-19 prevention and control and online learning during the pandemic.

Since early 2020, the Quang Trung Software City has been using an automatic body temperature measurement system it installed at TMA Building and Building 1, Vietnam news agency (VNA) reported.

It warns using sound and images when someone walks in with a fever of 37.5 degree Celsius or more.

It said the system should be used at all buildings and quarantine areas in place of people carrying digital thermometers to reduce the risk of transmission.

QTSC has also developed a system for face identification, which sets off an alarm if someone not wearing a mask enters a building.

QTSC has integrated the functions of face identification and temperature measurement in a system it installs for a rent of 3.5 million VND (US$ 151) monthly or sells at 35-70 million VND (US$ 1,511- 3,023).

Bkav Electronic Joint Stock Company developed the Bluezone application to warn smartphone coming in close contact with diagnosed Covid-19 patients. The app has been downloaded by 27 million people, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Health.

The company is collaborating with relevant agencies in the healthcare sector to constantly update information about the location of Covid-19 patients or those suspected to be infected and those from disease-hit areas with symptoms like fever, cough and breathing difficulties.

It also provides the addresses and phone numbers of the nearest health facilities and offers counselling on the disease and health declaration requirements.

The Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Information and Communications and IT companies have jointly developed an NCOVI application for health declaration.

Vietnam had recorded two new domestically transmitted cases of Covid-19 infection on Friday (Feb 12), raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 2,142 with 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

The new cases included one detected in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi and one in the northern Bac Ninh province. They are contacts of previously confirmed Covid-19 patients, said the ministry.

As many as 1,531 patients have been given the all-clear, the ministry said, adding that nearly 129,100 people are being quarantined and monitored.

The latest wave of Covid-19 infections hit Vietnam on Jan. 28, with 555 community cases so far confirmed in 13 cities and provinces, according to the ministry. - Bernama