The global war on the Covid-19 pandemic may be far from won. But the battle waged against the virus in Thailand has advanced to the point where restrictions are progressively being lifted.
Success in containing the disease is attributed partly to the "warriors in white gowns", a reference to the doctors and healthcare workers striving to keep us safe, although a share of the credit must also go to people in the non-medical field.
In this group start-up enterprises, already well-known for their fast-moving, technology-driven nature, exploited those strengths to help fight the outbreak.
At the onset of Covid-19 crisis in Thailand in late February, the Thailand Tech Startup Association reached out to the medical community and asked how it could help.
Panachit Kittipanya-ngam, president of the association, said rapidly multiplying infections threatened to overpower the health system, and doctors could not be recruited at short notice.
"The big question mark was how to limit the infections and free up resources and manpower for patients who need them the most," he said.
The association figured out a way to reinforce defences against Covid-19 and came up with an online system which analyses potential Covid-19 patients.
Normally, people concerned whether they might have contracted the virus visit hospitals to have a test, running the gamut from medical interviews, temperature checks and waiting to see a doctor.
Mr Panachit said the system designed by the association allows people to input their information before it assesses the risk of their having contracted Covid-19. For those with low or no risk, the assessment saves them a trip to hospital.
People with significant risk of the disease are referred by the system to volunteer doctors who provide consultations online.
Mr Panachit said the system, under the Ped Soo Pai (Ducks Fighting Danger) programme, offered a layer of screening for over 100,000 people who sought its service.
About 2,000 of whom were found to carry a credible risk of infection. They were then put through to the volunteer doctors via the TelaConsult technology.
Of those who talked to the doctors, 50 were rated at high risk of infection. Of them 13 showed significantly high risk, and they were placed under quarantine. Two others later tested positive for Covid-19 and were treated at Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok.
People who accessed the system must key in their 13-digit citizenship ID numbers and answer questions truthfully because the information will be sent to hospital in the event they are diagnosed with the disease and undergo treatment.
Mr Panachit said the Ped Soo Pai alludes to the natural ability of ducks which can thrive both on land and water. Their multi-talents are like start-up businesses which can deploy their qualities to constructive and sometimes life-saving use.
The project is a collaboration between the association and the Digital Economy Promotion Agency, the Department of Disease Control (DDC), the National Innovation Agency and Chulalongkorn University.
The start-up groups under the association's umbrella have volunteered to work for the project.
Mr Panachit said the Covid-19 screening system also relays guidelines put out by the Department of Disease Control on how people can keep themselves safe from the virus.
"We have the skill in making information presentable. We simplify it and we turn it into something easy to understand in catchy and suitable online formats," he said.
The system also checks Covid-19-related data borrowed from various sources before it is put up on the internet. The authentication process is assisted by the "Sure and Share Centre" run by the state-owned broadcaster MCOT.
Once the system catches on with the public, accurate and reliable information about the pandemic gets passed on to the wider population.
"More than 100 employees of start-ups put their heads together and designed the system in a race against time. Infections were surging with every passing day," he said.
"Our team is proud to have helped the medics and taken some of the loads off their hands," he added.
The team discovered many were anxious about their state of health and were more desperate for a test than even the sufferers themselves, Mr Panachit said.
After the screening system was functioning well, the association turned to assisting people with mild symptoms of Covid-19 who had to remain in quarantine.
Mr Panachit said the association helped arrange logistical support for food and medicine to be distributed to those with mild conditions who could not return home for fear of spreading the virus to their families.
The association also contacted hotels and dormitories with trained staff to care for the mild-condition sufferers. A network of hospitals and hotels in Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen and Songkhla was created for them.
"The association can't treat the sick like doctors do but we can come into play by managing resources and services for the patients," he said.
Those in the start-up businesses tend to be go-getters who produce results, he said. "What we do isn't just empty imagination on a piece of paper. We can do a lot to help the country," Mr Panachit said.
