Amid the coronavirus epidemic, havoc and panic wave can be witnessed in entire China due to the outbreak. China has opted for Blockchain Technology to manage the outbreak of this fatal epidemic.

It is using Blockchain technology to manage medical records, for tracking the supply of virus prevention tools and materials and also to consult and educate the public about the precautionary measures.

The coronavirus is seen as a national emergency that has infected 65000 people so far and has killed more than 1400 people. Due to the panic wave, people are consuming precautionary medicines and thus there is a growing shortage of medical supplies in many provinces.

Blockchain Technology for Medical Data Security and Raise donations

Blockchain technology is being deployed by various startups for various applications related to the coronavirus crisis.  A startup dubbed as Hyperchain has developed a donation tracking platform called Shanzong which has been tracking hundreds of donations offered by people to fight back the epidemic and the victims.

The local authorities have confirmed that blockchain has very useful to track and secure the collected data of the affected. In the Xi'an town which is the capital of Shaanxi province, blockchain technology has been applied for screening and also for using the treatment

Zhejiang provincial Health Commission and the Economy and Information Technology Department of China have collaborated with mobile and online payment platform Alipay that enables Charity organizations and initiatives to come together for donations with more clarity and efficiency.

Donors are skeptical if their funds are rightly being used for relief measures or not. In this vague situation, Blockchain Technology is helping to retain the trust of the state-backed charity organizations. The app allows the donors to track and review the allocation of their donations if they are being used for relief causes or not.

Insurance firms are using corona virus-related claims. Online mutual aid platforms like Xiang Hu Bao has listed the Coronavirus outbreak for a one-time payout of $14400 (100, 000 Yuan).

Impact of Coronavirus on the Businesses

Amidst the chaos and panic that has shaken entire China, has affected, rest of the world as well.  Several cryptocurrency-related conferences and other events in the country have been postponed. Crypto mining firms including Bitmail, Canaan, and MicroBT have published delay notices on their websites due to the outbreak. Hong Kong-based blockchain remittance firm Bitspark abruptly close down its operations due to Coronavirus break and the massive anti-government Hong Kong protests

It has also been reported that the Chinese government has started the quarantine of used currency notes to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Use of Other Technologies to fight the outbreak

Other disruptive technologies are also being used to fight the corona outbreak. Artificial Intelligence and drones are being used to trace and diagnose the coronavirus. Robots are being used to quarantine the victims and the infected hospital wards.

Red Cross Society has been unable to handle the crisis and thus its official has been removed under the charges of dereliction of duty against the epidemic.

Jayashree Ingle

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA