The government of Bangladesh has said that it will utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the management of Corona virus spread in the country. The ICT division of government of Bangladesh under its Access to Information (a2i) programme and the Ministry of Health collaborated with the largest mobile service provider of Bangladesh Robi to conduct a survey on Corona. More than 7 lakh people responded to the bulk SMS sent by the government to garner information about Corona. The national call centre and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) received about 5 lakh 70 thousand calls under this programme.

The outcome of the survey along with extensive data garnered by Robi from multiple sources will utilise AI analytics to provide insights for accurate prediction of Corona threat.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said on Thursday that the AI powered insights will help the government to set its next course of action to fight Corona virus, reports the official news agency BSS. Director General of Health Services, Professor Abul Kalam Azad expressed the hope that other mobile operators will follow the lead of Robi.

In the meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered that at least 2 samples from each Upzila may be tested from tomorrow to get a better picture of the spread of Corona in the country. In a virtual briefing today, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said that they have been instructed to conduct 1000 tests for Corona virus by Friday. Currently, six testing labs are working in Bangladesh for testing of the Corona virus infection.

According to Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) a total of 1896 people have been tested till April 2. On Thursday, 2 new Corona positive cases were detected taking the total to 56. Till now 6 people have died of Corona in the country.

Prime Minister Hasina also directed all the government officials and employees to use masks while on duty in order to curb the spread of the Corona virus.

Stepping up the relief measures further, the government on Thursday reduced the price of Open Market Sale (OMS) of rice to Tk 10 per kg from Tk 30 per kg earlier. Ministry of food issued the order on Thursday.