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Red Cross uses RC143 mobile app to fight COVID-19

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/04/07/rc143.jpg"/></figure></div>MANILA - The Philippine Red Cross is tapping technology to empower mobile phone users to help in the country&#x27;s fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).RC143 mobile app, named after the Red Cross&#x27; community-based volunteer program, uses wireless, geo-location and sensory capabilities of mobile phones to trace contact events between people.“In order to unmask the invisible enemy, we have turned to technology in a bid to better guide our frontliners and command center experts,” said Sen. Richard Gordon, PRC chair, in a statement.Gordon hopes to integrate the end-to-end RC143 system in its command center, and roll out the app to its frontliners and the general public.Available on Google PlayStore, RC143 app gathers data that can provide better tracing context, like number of users within close proximity, location and duration, allowing the Red Cross to notify users who had contact (direct or indirect) with a COVID-19 patient.The app will also enable users to navigate away from high risk areas, guided by constant monitoring by Red Cross personnel and AI.&quot;Our breakthrough for now, is in deploying CCT or contextual contact tracing to alert PUIs at various levels of risk in their asymptomatic stages, powered by AI and Deep Learning analytics to help determine where outbreaks are or may occur,” said Dennis Mendiola, Senior Consultant to the Chairman and former Governor of the Red Cross.Mendiola said AI and other mobile computing technologies are force-multipliers for Red Cross frontliners who are able to filter and assist more people where the entire process used to be done manually.The Department of Information and Communications (DICT) supports the initiative, said Mendiola. He said DICT is also providing valuable advice while safeguarding the privacy of users.With massive adoption, according to RC143’s developers, the app can provide more and more accurate data indicative of the health of users going in and out of lockdown zones. <div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/04/07/screenshot_20200407-001700.png"/></figure></div>Mendiola disclosed a navigational feature in RC143’s pipeline that will be useful for people to identify high-risk zones. &quot;With more and more people downloading and carrying the app, it can aid citizens in their cautious but purposeful return to essential economic activity,” said Mendiola.Gordon urged Filipinos to actively adopt RC143 immediately to promote safety and the best possible chance of returning to normalcy.“It is our hope that RC143, in the hands of more and more people, will, sooner than later, amount to significant aggregate data that government and health authorities can use in real-time, to mobilize resources and craft policy decisions that will allow the resumption of productive societal life albeit under the new normal,” Gordon said.Any resident of the Philippines with an active Philippine mobile number can use RC143, a free app. Users can go to Google Play and search for “RC143” to download it. The app is currently only available for Android users (version 6.0 and above) and will be made available for iOS soon.

The Philippine Red Cross is tapping technology to empower mobile phone users to help in the country's fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The Philippine Red Cross is tapping technology to empower mobile phone users to help in the country's fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).