Visakhapatnam: Mobile data analysis considered effective tool for contact tracing

Visakhapatnam: The mobile data of the coronavirus positive cases is being screened as a part of the contact tracing to curb the spread of the pandemic.

The step is being considered an effective tool by the district administration to trace a number of contacts in less time and ensure no slips.

With the support of the departments concerned, including the police, the Exercise of mobile data analysis gains significance as the suspects decline to divulge the travel history or details of the people whom they met in the recent past.

When a person is tested for coronavirus positive case, contact tracing turns out to be a time-consuming exercise for the officials.

With the possibility of the infection getting spread because of the delay in contact tracing, health officials intensify cluster containment strategies and their surveillance in Red Zone areas. Since there is a larger scope for forgetting whom the Covid-19 patients have met in the recent past, there is a higher chance of the virus spreading among them.

During investigation, patients were able to divulge information about their primary contacts to an extent. However, recalling the secondary contacts appears to be a daunting task for them.

To ease this process, the district administration has decided to trace the call data of the patient so that there will not be any slips in contact tracing.

Based on the response from the Covid-19 patients whether they were confined to meeting them or calling them up, decision towards sending the other contacts to the quarantine centres will be taken.

With rise in the number of cases in Visakhapatnam going up in the recent days, the exercise of tracking mobile data is considered a mechanism to curb coronavirus from spreading further and minimise the time taken in contact tracing. Visakhapatnam district recorded 37 Covid-19 positive cases till Monday. However, on Tuesday, two more positive cases, one from Dandu Bazaar and another from Marripalem, were registered taking the total count to 39 in the district. Health officials say that Dandu Bazaar alone registered over 10 corona positive cases.

Since there is a higher risk of the infection spreading further in the area, apart from the patients' contacts, the district administration decided to test each individual residing in Dandu Bazaar which falls under the red zone.

Likewise, a similar mechanism is likely to be followed in areas like Madhavadhara and Marripalem where positive cases were registered.