People have been living in fear as the number of the Covid-19 patients nears 2,260 and the country has undergone a curfew to contain the virus spread.
To light a candle for hope, tech firms, IT experts and a group of doctors have come up with advanced applications and innovations on several digital platforms to help people survive this crucial time.
Apart from Mask Map Thai that is designed to help surgical mask hunters, Life put together a list of interactive maps, online clinics and therapeutic music and game libraries to use during self-isolation at home.
Klai Mue Moh combines more than 120 symptoms of disease.
Klai Mue Moh
Released late last year, the mobile application Klai Mue Moh (Doctor Near You) has been downloaded by more than 90,000 users. It serves as a virtual clinic, where people can be diagnosed at their fingertips. This is a collaboration between the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and Dr Adunchai Thammasangsert, a committee member of the Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons of Thailand.
To implement basic health screening, this app has accumulated more than 120 symptoms of diseases in 11 categories ranging from internal medicine to surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics, orthopaedics, dentistry, physical therapy, dermatology, psychiatry, ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology.
The novel coronavirus is the latest addition to the list. The app has provided medical information to indicate signs of illness, with video clips and creative graphic designs educating people how to prevent virus infections.
In 2015, Dr Adunchai joined hands with more than 30 doctors specialising in different fields such as orthopaedics, obstetrics and ophthalmology to create the SOS Specialist page on Facebook, where people can confer about health problems for free.
Designed for people of all ages, new mums often chat to ask for tips on how to feed and take care of a newborn baby, while others seek a treatment course to ease office syndrome and people in their 40s get concerned about abnormal hormone levels.
"Now, the SOS Specialist page has more than 160,000 health-conscious followers. It became a large database of medical history that I used to develop the application DiagMe two years ago before it recently reincarnated in an easier-to-use version of Klai Mue Moh," Dr Adunchai said.
"General users can check their symptoms and well-trained medical volunteers can use it to help diagnose a variety of diseases while operating a mobile clinic in remote areas. Featuring a cartoon character, users can tap on such organ-like icons as heart, knee or lung to see the disease directory or search for symptoms."
To reduce the risk of infections, Dr Adunchai is developing an invisible warning feature so that his application can alert users to keep away from those showing symptoms of Covid-19.
"Now, those who are required to self-quarantine need to download a mobile app and authorities can monitor where they are in real time. So, I want to create an invisible warning programme that can be linked with authorities. Our app users will get an SMS to indicate the locations of suspected cases who break the rules and get out of their accomodation," Dr Adunchai said.
"This is a way to make people safe and the country has no need to lock down. People should get back to normal life without fear so businesses can move on."
Klai Mue Moh is available on Apple Store and Google Play.
Covidtracker.5 Lab.co showcases an online map of cases.
Covid Tracker
Aiming to alert people about risk areas, covidtracker.5Lab.co boasts an online map that marks the locations where the novel coronavirus patients and suspected cases have been discovered.
This is a masterpiece by 5Lab, the Bangkok-based IT firm specialising in software development for e-commerce platforms. Launched last month, the programming team spent just one night devising an interactive map that drew 2.5 million visitors on the first day.
"On March 12, Thailand had 30 infected cases and people started questioning where they were. Of course, we got paranoid because our office is in Sathon district. We decided to create this website for ourselves but it became an instant hit with other urban residents," said Patcharin Tanchaiekkul, chief marketing officer of 5Lab.
"Influenced by Google Maps, our idea is to help double-check news and provide essential information, based on the timelines of Covid-19 patients and suspected cases."
To take on fake news, the map now can map the Covid-19 spread around the country and is available in English, Japan and Chinese to serve expatriates. According to authorities and leading news agencies, the reports will be updated constantly so that visitors can explore where the Covid-19 patients and suspected cases have ever travelled to or where they have been hospitalised.
"Today, 75% of visitors are Thais and 20% are foreigners. The map also features real-time information, adhered to the open government databases. With the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, it's hard for authorities to survey and share their timelines to the public. This is why sometimes we can't put some details into the map.
"We just added a new feature to alert visitors once they are close to any Covid-19 cases. Some 13.7 million visitors still use the website each day, even though everyone has been asked to stay at home."
Visit covidtracker.5Lab.co.
Smiley Sound offers music to ease stress.
Smiley Sound and Brainy 2 Blessly
Asst Prof Dr Supalak Khemthong has developed a new mobile application Smiley Sound, specially designed for those suffering from depression, attention deficit and dementia.
Supalak is an occupational therapist at Mahidol University's Physical Therapy Center, where he spent six months conducting research on how sound waves can help the brain produce happiness hormones -- dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphin.
"Thai Health Promotion Foundation gave me funds to develop Smiley Sound. My father suffers from Alzheimer's and he plays a violin to vitalise his brain. To merge with different sound waves, I asked him to play 15 songs and rearrange them into some seven-minute relaxing tracks for Smiley Sound," Supalak said.
"This mobile app can be perfectly paired with exercise headphones so that sound waves can vibrate ear canals before going through the brain to generate alpha waves. It's like saying a bedtime prayer that can relieve strains."
It's time to take a break from scrolling up and down news feed. Listening to this music for four consecutive days can improve your memory, alleviate depression and help you sleep better.
Another innovation is Brainy 2 Blessly in partnership with the centre and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. Launched last month, this app features two games to test your memory and level of happiness.
"Designed for people of all ages, it takes merely 30 seconds to examine brain functions. Those working from home can enjoy this application. Sometimes, a homey atmosphere in a bedroom might make you lazy, so playing these puzzle games help check if your brain is still active," he explained.
"If you get low scores, that means you should change your behaviour. For example, get up early and dress in clothes like you're going to the office. This is a way to increase your productivity."
The application also offers the Brainy Sound features, designed to ease fear, melancholy, anger, dementia and depression.
Smiley Sound and Brainy 2 Blessly are available on Apple Store and Google Play.
Away Covid-19 is available on the Line platform.
Away Covid-19
Specialising in open-source mapping software, tech start-up Mapedia has used its expertise in developing Away Covid-19, an online map available on the Line platform. It was launched two weeks ago and has attracted 1.5 million visitors, with easy-to-use features to find the risk areas and routes to hospitals, or to check the increasing number of virus cases.
"With the idea of warning people of the risk areas around them, we spent two days creating an interactive map so visitors can check where Covid-19 cases have been between up to 150km away. Our map is designed for people of all ages but has become popular with seniors, who have low skills in using media technology," said Chingchai Hoomhong, a manager at Mapedia.
Based on the Open Street Map and reports from the Ministry of Public Health, visitors can check timelines of Covid-19 patients and suspected cases where they have stayed and travelled within 21 days.
"Our map can pinpoint risk areas around the country. We update the number of coronavirus cases and related information every day; for example, where new Covid-19 cases were found and where they are treated. Visitors can also check the places where self-quarantine cases have been, according to reports from authorities," said Teerayoot Injun, a software developer at Mapedia.
Covid Bot invites people to take a coronavirus screening test.
Covid Bot
For those getting paranoid if they're infected with Covid-19, the recently launched Covid Bot gives you a chance to take the screening test, designed by Freak Lab and a group of doctors -- alumni of the Junior Science Talent Project.
This artificial intelligence software can simulate a chat -- both in Thai and English -- on Facebook Messenger and Line so that visitors can check their symptoms and evaluate the risk of virus infection in a few minutes.
"The man behind Covid Bot is Asst Prof Werasak Suraruengchai, who founded Junior Science Talent Project and Freak Lab at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. He started developing this chatbot after viewing video clips showing situations when the city of Wuhan in China was put under a full lockdown," said Kritsaporn Sujjavorakul, paediatric resident at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, who once attended the Junior Science Talent Project.
"Freak Lab has expertise in developing chatbot platforms. Professor Werasak invited his students to create a basic screening test following guidelines from the Department of Disease Control. It's easy for people to check their symptoms because going to the hospital can put them at risk of virus infection."
Giving priority to privacy, there's no registration before doing a test. Very simply, visitors only answer "Yes" or "No" once Covid Bot asks some questions like "Have you travelled abroad in the last two weeks?", "Do you have any of the following symptoms -- cough, sore throat, congestion or runny nose?", and "Has anyone in your household recently returned from the high risk countries in the last two weeks?".
"At the end of the test, the chatbot will evaluate your risk and determine if you need a medical examination. The program is also designed to follow up and give advice in case visitors are evaluated to be at risk of Covid-19 infection. For the past three weeks, the chatbot has attracted more than 25,000 visitors and a new version was launched on the Line platform last weekend."
