State Health dept uses IIT-M software to monitor clusters

The software uses real-time data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to identify exposure to coronavirus among people within a specific geographical area. The data analysed by ITHAS is being used by the Health Department officials to trace cases based on the location and control the spread of the pandemic in areas reporting a spike in cases.

The numbers and geographic details of positive cases help in contact tracing by mapping the places visited by the patient based on their GPS data history for past 15 days.

Officials said the software is helping them trace a minimum of 25-30 contacts of one positive person.

“The software is serving as a secondary tool other than regular tracing of COVID-19,” said Dr TS Selvavinayagam, director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, adding that it helps identify places with more number of cases and hotspots to enable taking preventive measures to avoid clusters.

While the department monitors positive patients and trace the cases offline based on the contact information shared by the patient, the software aids in accessing their geographical location.

The software provides information on the participation of the patient in any gatherings, including private events. This enables officials to keep a check on cluster cases and identify potential clusters for saturated testing, officials said.