Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is supporting National efforts for fight against COVID-19 by creating awareness against the disease through SMSs and by tracking suspected/vulnerable cases using mobile phone technologies.
On the request of Ministry of Health (MoH) is sending out SMS alerts to people who might have come in contact with Corona Virus affected individuals during travelling or at other places.
The initiative that relies in part on a cell phone tracking system is led by the government’s Digital Pakistan programme. The system works by first identifying locations visited by a known Covid-19 patient over the last 14 days. When the owner of a phone tests positive for Covid-19, authorities use a record of their recent movements to notify owners of any other phones that recently came close to that phone of their risk of infection and advised them to self-isolate.
“It has been observed that you may have come in contact with a confirmed coronavirus case in the last 14 days. You are, therefore, requested to take necessary precautionary measures by self-quarantine,” the alert reads.
Through SMS, recepient is being requested to contact nearest health center or emergency services (1166) in case having symptoms such as fever, cough, problem in breathing and pain in body. Message sender appears as ‘Coronaalert’.
Telecom authorities have confirmed that the message is authentic.
