Corporation unveils one-stop app for Covid details

COIMBATORE: Containment zones and their location, number of active cases in each containment zone and in any area, nearest pharmacies and primary health centres in each area — city residents would soon be able to know all these in a single application.
The city corporation on Thursday unveiled ‘Kovai_Care’, a mobile app developed by a team of four engineering students from the city. The app would also have information on location of people who have been advised home quarantine, or who live in containment zones. If these people venture out of the zones, officials would be alerted by a message.
“We store the details of quarantined people which is collected by city corporation workers in the back-end of the app. They would be monitored by a ‘geo tag’. This would make contact tracing easier,” said one of the developers of the app. They said the app would be available in Play Store soon.
Minister for municipal administration S P Velumani, who unveiled the app on Thursday at the city corporation office at Townhall, said it would give all relevant information on Covid-19.
Speaking to reporters, he said so far 80,623 people have been tested for Covid-19 in the district, of whom, up to Wednesday, 1,591 have been tested positive. So far, 930 people have been cured of the disease and have been sent home.
He said siddha treatment would be given to Covid-19 patients who were quarantined at Codissia trade fair complex. “They would be given Kabasura Kudineer, Chooranams, herbal drinking water, natural tonics, siddha tablets, and a healthy diet along with yoga, exercises and stress management techniques,” the minister said.
Cases were increasing in the district as people from other states and districts have been coming in, and many were bypassing the check-posts in two-wheelers. “If people come to know such incidents, they should report it to officials,” he said.
Friends and family of those who have been tested positive for Covid-19 should not stigmatise them, but should look after them with care and affection, the minister said.
“All people should wear masks. If you see a person without a mask, please don’t talk to him/her,” Velumani added.
When asked about the prospect of a complete lockdown, he said the current situation did not warrant it. If there was cooperation from the public in Covid-19 preventive measures, there would be no need for a complete lockdown, he said.
“A complete lockdown is imposed only when the health department decides and tells us that it is necessary. Only when cases spike uncontrollably we need a complete lockdown. Now we have a controllable situation. Also, if there is a complete lockdown, many workers and industries would be affected, we must consider that also. If the public cooperates with the preventive measures, we can control the spread,” Velumani said.