5th May 2020: A data driven product created by government advisory body Sapio Umbrella, currently engaged with various state, UT and local governments, recommends a granular lockdown plan optimizing spread of virus, economic impact, and social impact. The product was demonstrated to a select gathering of press and government officers on Saturday.
The product claims to provide an optimum plan of lockdown on a ward or village level, across types of establishments and industries in the area, such that both lives and livelihoods are saved. The lockdown plan can be extrapolated to a larger area depending on the needs of the administration.
“We are currently engaged with various state governments and this detailed plan has already been submitted to the Government of India. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has acknowledged the same and PMO is being briefed on the plan. We have received initial positive interest from NITI Aayog for its effective execution on a pan India level in form of a policy, and impact results of a few pilots are awaited. Meanwhile, we will continue reaching out to states and local bodies who are using our system to plan the enforceability of lockdown”, says Hardik Somani, COO of Sapio Analytics, the company that owns the body Sapio Umbrella.
Speaking about the product, Ashwin Srivastava, co-founder and chief executive of Sapio Analytics adds, “Through this system, we will finally be able to optimize different types of impacts; spread of the virus, impact on productivity, impact on crime and supply of essential services, impact on water supply and sanitation; and thus provide a comprehensively designed recommendation of lockdown on a hyperlocal level within a ward. This is what India needs right now, and the Government of India seems to agree with us.”
The demonstration session was attended by scientists from the Department of Science and Technology and Technology Development Board. In response to questions about the model and its effectiveness, Srivastava mentioned that every aspect of the product was carefully designed using dozens of accepted global models and by combining the same with scientific contextualization for India, with support from experts and on-ground surveyors, consisting of a team of more than 300 members dedicated to the same since more than 7 weeks.
Sapio Umbrella has previously co-invented the Hyperion Plasma Treatment with Redcliffe Lifesciences and European Medical Association, demonstrating successful results of treatment of COVID-19 within 48 hours. It has also been responsible for designing data driven protocols for testing and treatment besides protocols for governance in case of positive COVID-19 identification.
