JAMAICA is employing the use of geospatial technology in combating COVID-19.

Speaking recently at the ‘Virtual Jamaica COVID-19 Geospatial Forum’, senior medical officer (SMO) for health informatics in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr Michele Roofe said that geospatial tools are being utilised for the monitoring and data management aspects of the pandemic.

She explained that the primary tool being used is Go.Data, which is an open-source application recommended to member states by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“It captures…cases, contacts, as well as outcomes, deaths, recoveries, isolation, laboratory results and epidemiological data. It is very strong on chains of transmission, which is important for the containment of COVID-19,” she noted.

She said there is some capacity for geospatial mapping but noted, “that is more or less limited, so we intend to have Go.Data serve as a single source of truth for all data coming from various applications”.

Geospatial mapping is being used to track people, enhance contact tracing and testing, and to identify positive cases.

Additionally, the SMO said that various maps have been developed by a geographic information system analyst looking at workplace clusters, where the individuals in the cluster reside, the potential routes they travelled, and where cases and contact intersect.

In the case of the workplace cluster at the Alorica call centre in Portmore, St Catherine, Dr Roofe said with the development of a dashboard — which is a view of geographic information that helps to monitor events or activities — the ministry team was able to monitor the workers, and to respond and provide services as needed.

She noted that through the Survey123 app and dashboard, a tool was developed to report on bed occupancy.

Geospatial technology is also being used in the mapping of vulnerable groups; to track people in home quarantine; and to collect individually identifiable personal health information from staff or patients of class-one diseases.