IndiaThe 'infobank' will contain all verifiable andaccurate information on the disease, the teacher associatedwith the university's Innovation Council said.
"A lot of misinformation on novel coronavirus is beingspread, ranging from its origin to symptoms and means oftransmission. This unnecessarily creates panic and confusionamong the people. The infobank will dispel all wronginformation," the educator told .
The process of creating the infobank began at an all-India hackathon organised by the computer science departmentof the university wherein students had presented the conceptat a time when the disease had just marked its footprint inIndia, he said.
"As the concept generated enthusiasm among theorganisers and participants of the event, we asked thestudents to work on it and later make a prototype," theteacher said.
However, work on the prototype got delayed as classeswere suspended and hostels vacated in the wake of thelockdown, he said.
Eight final year post-graduate students of thecomputer science department are currently working on theproject from their homes under the supervision of teachers,the teacher said.
"Once the classes resume and the laboratory reopens,we will be able to get more real-time data for the applicationfrom hospitals treating COVID-19 patients and laboratoriestesting samples of people suspected to be infected with thedisease," he said.
Though the application will not detect fake news onCOVID-19, it will help the user distinguish authenticinformation from misinformation as it will contain onlygenuine data, the educator said.
"We will keep updating the application as there willbe more research on the disease in future," he said.
The teacher said the application, in future, will alsocontain information on ways to cope with outbreaks ofinfectious diseases as well as natural calamities or man-madedisasters. SUSACD ACD