COVA App: Technology-Based Response for COVID-19 Management in Punjab

Introduction

During the first wave of COVID-19 in India from April to November 2020, Punjab saw one of the highest fatality rates in the country, despite efforts to control the spread of the virus.¹ During the second wave from March to July 2021, the situation worsened. Five of the 15 districts with the highest number of active cases in the country in March 2021 were in Punjab.² However, between May and June 2021, the state experienced a 99 percent decline in the number of cases over 10 weeks.³ This success can be attributed to Mission Fateh, the Punjab government’s flagship program to manage COVID-19. A major part of the mission and many of its objectives were achieved through the COVA (Corona Virus Alert) mobile app.⁴

The state launched COVA on March 9, 2020.⁵ The app was initially designed to offer crucial information on preventive measures, report any COVID-19 regulation violations, and track interstate and intrastate movement of migrants and travelers. The app then evolved to provide geotagging services for contact tracing and health status checks. To generate greater awareness and empower citizens with information, the app was modified to provide information on government-issued guidelines, number of active cases in the vicinity, bed availability, hospitals, and testing centers. Over time, the app was further strengthened to incorporate services such as vaccine registration (mainly for those under age 45, which were later transferred to the CoWIN app), plasma donor registration, e-pass application, e-consultations, and delivery of essentials. Simultaneously, real-time data collected on cases, patient location, beds availability was used by the government to better prepare the health infrastructure in the state and formulate appropriate quarantine-related policies. As of June 2021, COVA had been downloaded more than 6.3 million times.⁶

Since then, 11 states in the country have inquired about the technology of the app.⁷ Inspired by the technology and features of COVA, two provinces in Canada are also preparing to release a similar app.⁸

The user interface of the COVA Punjab Application

How can you replicate or adapt this promising practice?

Adopt a need-based, agile approach for technology development

The original aim of the COVA app was to empower citizens and create awareness of behavioral measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, it evolved to offer various need-based services to citizens and administrators. For example, citizens had access to changing government protocols and guidelines, self-assessment tests, and appointments at hospital and testing centers. The app also collected data for planning and decision making by the government and other administrative authorities.

“Our quick response to the changing needs was enabled by the very close communication and collaboration across the tech and policy teams. We were working together to instantly resolve issues that were flagged on the ground by our Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), that monitored application usage and patients at a district level.” —Ushma Goswami, Governance Fellow, Government of Punjab

Generate awareness and contextualize technology to local needs

The Punjab government made several efforts to ensure that all citizens were aware of the app and able to easily access and use it. To increase its reach, the government mandated advertising for COVA by telecom service providers and social media platforms. To overcome language and literacy barriers, the app was launched in three languages: Hindi, English, and Punjabi. It was also accompanied with a user manual to enable citizens to easily comprehend and navigate the app.⁹

Use data for surveillance and patient management

The government of Punjab collected data from the app on several critical issues such as inflow of travelers, location of positive patients, bed availability, and oxygen cylinders. Developing mechanisms to collect real-time data on important variables enabled the government to formulate relevant guidelines. The Punjab government used mass-generated data, insights, and patterns in a transparent manner for wide-scale surveillance action, patient management, and increased availability of lifesaving equipment.¹⁰ For example, health data for individuals collected in institutional quarantine and hospitals were used to project demand for oxygen.¹⁰

The services available to users on the COVA Punjab Application.

What are the lessons learned from this bright spot?

When the pandemic began, the government of Punjab struggled to increase awareness among residents and address their skepticism of COVID-19.¹¹ With these challenges in mind, the COVA app was custom-designed to provide a platform for users to access information and for the government to collect and synthesize data and make decisions in real time.

“The goal for COVA was to share information, keep it as user friendly as possible and also make it a one-point platform for all services. As the cases began rapidly, we decided to include health related data and more modules.” —Mr. Jasminder Pal Singh Saini, Senior Consultant, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Punjab

The app was an amalgamation of the following steps:

Establish collective ownership and simple processes for adoption

The promotion campaign for the COVA app focused on encouraging residents to join Mission Fateh to instill a sense of responsibility, ownership, and association.⁹ The government published a user manual, available in print and online, with clear directions on accessing, downloading, and using the app.⁹

User manual on how to download the COVA app.

Engage citizens by creating an easy-to-use, interactive platform

In an attempt to increase user engagement, the app included a daily point system wherein individuals received points based on the number of precautions they had taken. Regular users were declared Mission Fateh “warriors.”¹² To enhance the user experience and make it easy to use, a chatbot-based e-consultation service was launched. Additionally, despite 70 percent mobile phone penetration rates, the government launched COVA as a web portal, in addition to an app available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store to solve barriers such as lack of trust in apps and mass disinformation.¹³ The web portal was especially useful for the police and administrative staff who worked on desktops to access and upload data.

“Exceptionally good and practical application. Real time solution and tracking facility. From generating curfew passes, to ordering groceries and medicines, it is a one stop solution. A must have for all people in Punjab.” —User review, Google Play Store

Adapt features based on changing needs

The Department of Governance Reforms in Punjab developed the COVA platform and consistently introduced new features to adapt to changing events during the pandemic. At the beginning of the first wave, government officials used the app to help enforce lockdown measures, promote social distancing, and trace COVID-19 positive patients. Residents used the app to locate hotspots and apply for e-passes to travel within the state during lockdown.¹⁴ As the severity of the pandemic increased, the app evolved into a platform that provided critical information such as hospital bed availability, test results, and contact details of hospitals catering to COVID-19 patients and nodal officers. It also provided a registration portal for plasma donors.¹⁵ Over time, the app was updated to include a section for frequently asked questions and revised guidelines and protocols from the government. The state’s vaccination drive was also largely driven by the app, which enabled citizens to register and identify vaccination centers in the area.

The app also provided a platform for individuals to report inappropriate behavior such as mass gatherings or overpricing and adulteration of products by enlisted vendors. The local authorities (district administrators) were responsible for monitoring complaints and taking necessary actions.

Use data strategically for decision making related to COVID-19 management

Although the app was originally launched to inform and empower citizens, the data and information collected by the app enabled the health department, district administration, state police, and COVID-19 control rooms to make vital decisions. COVA had dashboards that provided data on inflow of traffic, location of patients, list of hospitals and test centers, and usage of essential equipment. These data were used by the government to manage patients, traveler inflow, contact tracing and tracking, and quarantine.¹⁶ Rapid response teams used the app to collect and store data on the vitals of patients under home isolation in order to project demand for oxygen cylinders and hospital beds. Similarly, hospitals used the COVA web portal to update the status of COVID-19 patients and provide disaggregated data for the government to monitor.¹⁰

COVA web portal dashboard for hospitals using the app to collect data for decision making.

During the peak of the pandemic, there were 2,000,000 active users, with 1,000,000 data-sharing transactions on a daily basis. —Mr. Jasminder Pal Singh Saini, Senior Consultant, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Punjab

The COVA platform was integrated with e-Sanjeevani OPD (a consultation app from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare),¹⁶ Aarogya Setu (the Indian government’s COVID-19 app), and ITIHAS (software approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research for contact tracing). Integrating these platforms and sharing data between them resulted in faster contact tracing and decision making.¹⁷ The app also enabled the government to monitor, coordinate, and facilitate health care field staff to ensure coverage of their duties.

How was this promising practice implemented?

Develop and design app to facilitate access

The design and development of the COVA app accounted for language and access barriers faced by people of different socioeconomic levels within the state. The app was developed in three languages by the Department of Government Reforms and Public Grievances in consultation with the Health Department in Punjab. COVA was designed using geotagging technology to provide alerts to users in case of close contact with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. Uengage Services Private Limited also contributed to the app’s development by sharing technology to enable food delivery services.

COVA was developed and integrated with several important nationwide platforms including Aarogya Setu and ITIHAS.¹⁶ Over time, features were added based on the emerging needs of residents and decision-making authorities.

“Several organizations came to support us in building our technology, and we were open to working with them. For example, Drona Maps helped us with GIS to visually could see the number of cases, hotspots and predict future hotspots. CDEC supported us with setting up telemedicine centers to provide OPD services for patients.” —Mr. Jasminder Pal Singh Saini, Senior Consultant, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Punjab

Engage with partners to deploy app

Partnerships proved to be an important component in deploying this app. The government used telecom service providers to track quarantined individuals and monitor their movement from their base location. Through partnerships with various platforms and vendors, the app enabled users to order food and access other essential services.

To encourage the public to download the COVA app, the government made it compulsory for telecom service providers and social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube to send push notifications and show advertisements on their respective apps as banners or text messages in Punjab.¹⁸

Ensure data protection and feedback mechanisms

Given privacy concerns in India related to health data collected by apps, the government of Punjab issued public statements that addressed several such grievances.

Data collected by COVA were stored on the user’s phone, not on a central server, to prevent any leakage or misuse of the data. Every individual with access to the data was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The government also released a statement assuring the public that any data collected and stored would be deleted after the pandemic.

“Both GPS-based tracking and contact tracing is done using the data available with us through the application. As per government of India guidelines, we are also using call detail records of positive persons to do a mapping. It is done to trace the persons with whom the affected person may have come in contact for the past 14 days. The MHA [Ministry of Home Affairs] has authorized us to use anyone’s call data records. The data is for self-consumption and the data, which is in public domain, is only to keep the user aware of the nearby person who is positive. We are not disclosing names. We are only informing them about proximity.” —Ravi Bhagat, Senior Indian Administrative Service Officer and COVA In-Charge¹⁹

Supplementary material

COVA App - Technology-Based Response for COVID-19 Management in Punjab.pdf

Sources

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