The first Venezuelan App for monitoring Coronavirus
The Venezuelan startup of Innovation, Society and Smart Nation (SONICA) and Vente Mundo have developed the VM-COVID19 App to support Venezuelans abroad in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Experts around the world claim that this battle will be won, not only with strict measures such as social distancing and self-quarantine, but also thanks to the help of data and information that provide people with the knowledge of where the main areas of COVID-19 transmission can be found.
The app is designed to:
- Geolocate in real time to Venezuelans who have Coronavirus symptoms in their respective cities.
- Contact people through the route of their choice and follow up on their cases.
- Support in dealings with local health authorities, regardless of legal status or socioeconomic status.
For Fabio Valentini, Coordinator of Vente Mundo, “The advantage offered by this tool is clear: to achieve prompt and accurate diagnosis for the masses geolocated in real time, to support the Venezuelan diaspora. To achieve this, the user must exclusively indicate their sex, age and provide a contact telephone number or email. Once the questionnaire offered by the app is answered, we proceed with the corresponding health authorities at the international level and medical authorities at the national level.”
A click away from prevention
Engineer Omar Díaz, one of the Directors of SONICA, states that “this tool will be of great help to international authorities in pinpointing the possible sources of infection in each area, which will allow to define isolation measures in a more effective way to all the suspected cases, using big data and the information that we provide.”
It is important to note that the app is currently only available for Android and can be downloaded from Google Play or through the following link: http://www.nacioninteligente.org/
Once the App is downloaded, users must press and hold the SONICA logo for a few seconds and complete the form to be automatically geolocated. By uploading the data, Vente Mundo teams will contact those affected and may provide support through the authorities of each of the countries where they are located.
Fabio Valentini, ensures that the App was not designed for the purpose of attracting or politically affiliating people and is secured with a data protection system, working under the anonymity of the person who is contacted by means of their preference, as indicated by them voluntarily.
“At Vente Mundo, we are convinced that as individuals, we will overcome this current situation and our tool is essential in times of much confusion, data censorship and lack of information. This new technology will help in the creation of voluntary support networks, following WHO recommendations and best practices” Valentini commented.
Diaz describes how new technologies and procedures help advance the medical field and as such, spectacular progress is being made. He emphasizes how smartphones can help the most, through the use of Artificial Intelligence and various applications, which is fundamentally important in this current global health crisis.