The significance of Internet of Things (IoT) cannot be overemphasised in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and effective enforcement of lockdown by different layers of government.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) made this known in a statement signed by the Head of the agency’s Corporate Affairs and External Relations, Mrs Hadiza Umar, as part of the activities to mark this year’s World IoT Day celebrated on the 9th of April of every year.
The agency bemoaned the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on human endeavours, especially in the health sector. The statement further stated that IoT could be used to fight the virus and enforce lockdowns were necessary for combination with Geographic Information System and appropriate technologies.
Proffering a solution to the spike in the death of health workers, NITDA advocates the use of appropriate IoT solutions and capabilities among doctors and healthcare workers to treat patients via telemedicine.
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” Unfortunately, the pandemic resulted in the loss of my medical doctors and other healthcare workers through physical contact with infected persons.This therefore means that virtual treatments and other interactions can go a long way in safeguarding precious lives of our health workers,” the statement read
According to NITDA, IoT devices like drones can be used to monitor and enforce compliance of government’s directive on social distancing and the prohibition of mass gathering during coronavirus pandemic, adding that in the case of breach of compliance, the IoT devices can intimate law enforcement agents for necessary action.
NITDA, however, calls on the Nigerian youth and the key practitioners in the ICT industry to be prepared to take their rightful places to promote IoT technologies in Nigeria.
“We are confident that the Nigerian Tech Community has the capacity to harness the potentials of IoT in developing solutions to help in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic as well as help in cushioning the economic impact of the pandemic. All citizens and residents are advised to remain safe, stay and work from home and innovate while enjoying the 2020 World IoT Day.”
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