A non-profit organisation (NPO) is helping manage the spread of Covid-19 in some of Joburg's densely populated communities through the fabrication of real-time data using GIS mapping technology.
Dr Dorman Chimhamhiwa says the system ensures vulnerable communities stay safe from the pandemic. Chimhamhiwa is a Geographic Information System (GIS) and Planning department head at healthcare NPO Right to Care, which supports and delivers prevention, care and treatment services for HIV and TB.
“We've been looking at social vulnerability geo mapping and that allows us to provide insights on how vulnerable communities are to Covid-19. When you have that information, you can then build the right package of responses around that community," he says.
GIS is used to collect, store, analyse and manage geographical data, often in real time.
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Right to Care has been collaborating with the national Department of Health to provide GIS mapping and spatial analytics support.
Chimhamhiwa and his team have been assisting provinces with geo-map active cases and their contacts, working in areas where screening is being conducted, providing detailed mapping of socially vulnerable communities and hotspots and providing overall support to Covid-19 monitoring and evaluation.
He says mapping cases as they happen provides valuable and instant information that helps understand why there are hotspots in certain areas. In some instances, it could be that people are not abiding by lockdown rules, cannot self-isolate because their living conditions do not allow or are exposed to Covid-19 when they make use of public transport, Chimhamhiwa explains.
He says the information helps decision makers determine how and where to prioritise healthcare and other interventions to limit the spread.
“Through spatial modelling, GIS plays a very key role in terms of when and where we are likely to run out of hospital beds and what interventions should be put in place now, like increasing ICU bed capacity, bringing in more ventilators or the best location for a temporary healthcare facility if needed."
