Quang Ninh looks to take lead in IT application in COVID-19 fight

Apart from striving for all eligible residents to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the northern province of Quang Ninh is also working hard to take the lead nationwide in the application of information technology in the COVID-19 combat.

Apart from striving for all eligible residents to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the northern province of Quang Ninh is also working hard to take the lead nationwide in the application of information technology in the COVID-19 combat.

Secretary of the Quang Ninh Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Ky, who is also head of the provincial steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control, has asked the departments of health and public security, along with localities, to standardise data and ensure smooth connection and integration of information.

Moving to enhance its IT deployment capacity in the pandemic fight, Quang Ninh is considering the trial application of artificial intelligence (AI) at the checkpoint on Bach Dang bridge and will expand this model if it proves effective. It is also boosting the use of QR codes at agencies, businesses, and stores, and requests visitors to those places to scan QR codes in order to serve contact tracing.

Efforts are being made from provincial to grassroots levels to carry out integration and application solutions on the basis of the national population database, which is useful to not only the building of an e-administration, digital economy, and digital society, but also the fight against COVID-19.

Established on September 1, the Quang Ninh command centre for COVID-19 prevention and control is based at the headquarters of the provincial People’s Committee and uses the existing infrastructure of the local smart city operation centre. It is connected with 13 command centres at the district level and 177 others at the communal level.

Via the camera system, it has discovered wrongdoings in the implementation of anti-pandemic regulations at several checkpoints while entry and exit procedures for people were handled there, helping to make rectification in a timely manner.

Many activities of the provincial command centre have been integrated such as reading and submitting reports, issuing directions, managing documents and tasks, convening teleconferences, and receiving and replying to people and businesses’ opinions. Thanks to that, it has managed to gain a panorama as well as precise and continuous updates on the pandemic situation, keep contact with all-level centres around the clock, and make swift decisions to serve the COVID-19 fight.

In addition, the provincial command centre set up two hotlines, 0203.223.588 and 0869.9199.588, available in four foreign languages (English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese) to receive information about the pandemic. The hotlines handles around 80 - 100 calls per day most of which ask for details about conditions for exiting and entering the province, quarantine procedures, and the vaccination policy.

Besides, the centre has advised the provincial People’s Committee on anti-pandemic measures when socio-economic activities are resumed, along with COVID-19 vaccination for foreigners living in Quang Ninh. It has also directed, examined, and promoted the implementation of measures against COVID-19 in the province.

By taking early actions from the grassroots level and prioritising pandemic prevention, Quang Ninh has succeeded in surmounting different waves of coronavirus infections.

So far, it has stayed free of community transmission of the coronavirus for more than 100 days and basically completed administering the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all eligible residents.

The provincial administration has issued a plan to give the second doses, looking to finish the vaccination by October 30.

Authorities are also taking strong actions to prevent the virus from entering the province so as to keep the local situation stable in the “new normal”.

In 2021, Quang Ninh eyes a growth rate of 10 percent in the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and more than 51 trillion VND (over 2.2 billion USD) in State budget revenue, thereby achieving the twin targets of curbing COVID-19 and boosting socio-economic development.

Its GRDP increased 8.6 percent in the first nine months of this year, higher than the nation’s average level.