Decoding The Efforts Of Blockchain To Combat Corona

COVID-19 was somewhere hidden in books read by medical students or professionals only! But since the report of the first case came from Wuhan district of China in December 2019, every person either young or old; literate or illiterate know quite well about this dreadful virus. Movies like Outbreak, Contagion and Virus which were just the science fiction turned into documentaries of present times. Many technologies are coming up to normalize the condition along with blockchain to combat corona. So let us decode the efforts of Blockchain on Coronavirus in this blog.

Economic Impact Amid Corona Outbreak

Presently, scale and speed with which infected cases are increasing are beyond the imagination. Governments of more than 190 countries are finding difficulty to cope up with the terrible effects of a pandemic. Along with treating the total infected cases, economic consequences are also challenging to cure.

The stock market is falling like never before, which even compelled the US Stock Exchange to halt for 45 minutes. Prices of oil fell to the record low. Some of the reputed companies disclosed about their massive losses like Air France -KLM who lost $200 million; Kia Motors of South Korea who shut down all manufacturing plants; the most popular mobile company Apple announced the suspension of services in China and New York disclosed that almost $1 million is being spent per day to fight with corona.

Blockchain To Combat Corona

As the virus has been declared as a pandemic by WHO, it calls for warriors of the tech industry to reverse the situation to normal. In a whitepaper published by Deloitte, it was mentioned that Blockchain could power health information exchange with its distributed ledger concept. It further explained that technology could also facilitate interoperability and could reduce the cost of intermediaries involved.

Applications Of Blockchain Technology

The peer-to-peer technology is doing a great job to combat the effects of the infamous Corona since January 2020. Some of the following cases evidently applause efforts of Blockchain to combat Corona:

• Traceability of the Medical equipment: As Blockchain is an open and distributed record of a transaction, it ensures transparency in an online transaction. It helps in tracking fake products like masks and sanitizers and medical equipment which are being sold massively. For instance, North Carolina based Rymedi, a healthcare Blockchain company, shook hands with Kadena to improve supply chain management and quality control.
• Tracking The Virus: If we can trace the movement of a virus, we can be armoured to fight with it. Blockchain facilitates in analyzing news reports, social media platforms and various government announcements through its network and detecting the outbreak. For instance, BlueDot, a startup in Canada, used technology and warned priorly to the government of the country. Also, Acoer, Georgia based health startup designed solution on Blockchain to combat corona known as HashLog to detect and control the spread of the coronavirus.

• Monitor Air Quality: As virus majorly spreads through the air, Blockchain-powered platforms have been utilized to monitor the quality of air and manage the crisis in several countries. Chinese non-governmental organization, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs designed application” Blue Sky” to check real-time data on air quality.
• Transparency In Donation: A significant outbreak was first observed in China, where large donation flooded to help citizens of the country. Blockchain technology acted as an enabler by tracking the donation and routing it through five government charitable organizations of China who are utilizing them to treat patients.
• Minimize Inflation: Blockchain is also acting as the saviour of the economy by minimizing price inflation. It assures that the right equipment reaches the right people with transparency in price through a dedicated network powered by Blockchain.
• Fast Tracking of Loans: The State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China tried to help companies facing economic hazards during Corona by fast-tracking loans through Blockchain finance platforms and providing them with necessary funds.
• Speed up Medical Claims: Processing of healthcare claims while maintaining social distancing can be possible through innovative technology. Blockchain-based platforms speed up the processing of applications and reduce the face to face interaction, thereby reducing the spread of viruses. While some countries are deploying this technology and others are thinking to utilize it. For instance, Blue Cross Insurance in Hong Kong has used Blockchain platform for paperless claims in health services.
• Faster development of the drugs: Researchers all across the world are rigorously involved in developing the vaccination, which can crack down the effect of corona as soon as possible. The researches from the different countries if made interoperable through Blockchain, solutions for chaos can be deployed earlier than expected time. Major tech companies like Tencent, DiDi and Huawei have already been used by professionals to fast track the development of vaccination.
• Detection of non-compliant or infected individuals: Infected people are advised to be in quarantine and to stop getting in contact with any person for a few days. But, some of the people are not taking infection seriously and moving across the cities. Blockchain (which must contain data of every infected person) with the technology of face recognition can help in detecting non-complaints and putting them back to their places.

Distributed Ledger Technology At Rescue

In the present situation, almost every country has been affected, crashing nearly every sector of the industry. On the contrary Blockchain technology is gaining traction, especially in the health sector all across the world. Many healthcare startups based on blockchain platforms like Guardtime ( secure health records of patients), Gem Health (promotes blockchain collaboration in health care), Blockchain Health (for medical research management) etc. are effectively working to safeguard the people from the current situation.

Lets Chain The Corona With Blockchain

Blockchain is not only associated with digital currency, but it has found its application in various sectors like that in of health sector. To harness Blockchain technology altogether, efforts must be taken in every possible industry which can reduce the effects of the coronavirus.

Improvements in supply chain management, products and vaccine verification, tracking of donations, and insurance processing can support a global community fighting against viral infection, making Blockchain technology an essential addition in upcoming years.

Source: https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/decoding-the-efforts-of-blockchain-to-combat-corona