Coronavirus routes on the interactive map

The routes of people infected with coronaviruses will now be available on an interactive map of CovidApp. The tool developed in Lithuania allows you to conveniently and quickly check if you have been in contact with an infected.

The solution was implemented together with the technology partner “Baltic Amadeus. The map is available at www.covidapp.eu. All interested are given the opportunity to display the map free of charge on their information channels.

To date, specialists at the National Centre for Public Health have indicated routes of the infected in text format. However, as the number of cases increased, the process became particularly complex. In addition, due to the volume of work, professionals do not always collect the data on new routes to make them available to the public.

“We sought to offer a more convenient way to see where people infected with the coronavirus traveled. The system processes the official data collected by the CISC on a daily basis and allows it to be filtered. This helps to assess the risk of possible infection. We hope that this decision will also facilitate the work of the institutions by collecting more accurate data on where the sick have travelled. We allow any hospital or other authorized institution to map the history of the movement of infected people from their phones,” says Darius Dužinskas, Head of People and Marketing at Baltic Amadeus.

The tool represents data from official NCPH sources and is updated daily. It is true that due to the increase in work volumes, not all infected persons’ movements routes are still known and made public. Although the interactive map is currently only available to Lithuanian residents, it is expected to be adapted to the international market soon. The project has already been joined and supported by the US e-commerce and Cloud company Amazon.

The solution is developing rapidly. In the near future, all users will be offered the opportunity to upload their location history to the system to automatically check if the routes with the carriers of the virus have been matched. If infected people agree to share their travel routes in the CovidApp tool, it would be much easier to collect data. It is hoped that this interactive map will help to understand the extent of the spread of the virus and raise public awareness.

“We are already talking to countries from Poland and Iceland to Bangladesh about the possible adaptation of the map. The more of the world this solution would envolve, the more accurate the data we would get, which would allow us to predict the spread of the virus and thus manage it at least partially,” says Mantas Mažūna, co-creator of the idea of CovidApp and representative of Baltic Amadeus.

It is expected that in the future the prototype of the map will be used more widely. For example, by monitoring population flows in forests or parks, so that they can visit them without compromising quarantine rules. Also – controlling the spread of other viruses or diseases.

The original idea of creating a CovidApp team came about during Hack The Crisis, a hackaton in the end of March.

“Almost 1,000 hours – it took us so long to develop the prototype to a fully functioning product. I am delighted and proud of the whole team of over 20 people, whose professionalism, proactivity and creativity created what we have today,” says M. Mažūna.

The idea is to make the map software code publicly available to all, thus enabling professionals from other countries to contribute to its development. The initiators of the idea invite specialists (infectiousologists, epidemiologists and other academics) to join the team, whose knowledge and experience could help in the fight against not only this, but also the pandemics of the future.

“We are looking for this solution to become a system for the prevention and management of any pandemic and could be used not only now, but also in the future. We would like it to become a scientific project and facilitate the fight against potential risks”,said D. Dužinskas, Head of People and Marketing at Baltic Amadeus.