The government developed two web platforms through the Geographic Information System (GIS) to better plan and mobilise resources during the COVID-19 lockdown period and TC Harold.
Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Jone Usamate says these web platforms had immensely assisted them during the lockdown period where it provided them bird’s eye view on the distribution of COVID-19 patients as to where they were located.
He says these online systems allowed them to do contact tracing by districts and provinces and also allowed them to see where the different health facilities were located including isolation centres and fever clinics.
Usamate says the use of GIS allowed for accurate reporting for senior officials and allowed them also to have a better and stronger way of planning and developing resources to where needs were located.
As for TC Harold, Usamate says they used these web systems to collect field data before and after the impacts.
Usamate says this allowed for preliminary identification of communities affected by TC Harold including the extent of damage, and the amount of population.
The Lands Minister says this assisted government to better plan and mobilise the deployment of distribution of relief items immediately after TC Harold.
