3 Ways Computer Science can help fight COVID-19

Learning

Staying in touch with loved ones via apps whilst being physically apart
Moving to the cloud for online learning and remote working
Enabling secure, internet transactions to keep the economy moving

On the 11th of March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic. It is hard to believe that this outbreak had only occurred less than two years ago, yet a plethora of changes have been seen across the global community. It is also hard to forget that we have once lived in a world where computers were not readily available at our fingertips, anywhere and at any time. Given the accelerated changes of digital disruption over the past two decades, we can see how computer science has contributed immensely to fighting against the pandemic.

Here are 3 ways computer science is playing a vital role in fighting COVID-19, that you may not be aware of:

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#1 Staying in touch via apps whilst being physically apart

How have you stayed connected to your family and friends during the pandemic? Through writing and posting letters or sending an instant message via your messaging apps like Facebook, Whatsapp, Zoom or so forth? These group messaging apps have been extremely helpful and valuable when it comes to building and supporting communication online.

Not only do these apps maintain regular communication and relationships, they also tackle another undercurrent issue of mental health during the pandemic lockdown. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2021), stress, confusion and anger are commonplace as a result of the pandemic. Between 16 March 2020 and 27 June 2021, almost 17.6 million MBS-subsidised mental health-related services were processed.

Therefore, aided by the apps, they can contribute to supporting family, friends and colleagues to support one another during these difficult times; and can help save lives.

#2 Moving to the cloud for online learning and remote working

The global shift to online platforms, accelerated by the COVID-19, has continued post-pandemic and might be here to stay. According to the World Economic Forum (2020), the pandemic has resulted in schools shut all across the world. Globally, over 1.2 billion children were out of the classroom. Research has suggested that online learning has been shown to increase retention of information, and have enabled millions of students to learn from home safely and participate in online classes at the comfort of their homes.

Similarly, this was the same case for workers as the shift was a matter of safety and public health. According to Forbes (2020), cloud applications and services allow organisations to support remote workforces, regardless of their geographical location. For example, real-time communication platforms, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, are invaluable for enabling real-time communications throughout the entire company. With this, comes the importance of cloud security and proactively being aware of any cyber threats when working or learning online.

#3 Enabling secure, internet transactions to keep the economy moving

Computer science has also enabled secure, internet shopping in lieu of traditional face-to-face transactions during the pandemic. Whether it be checking your GPS delivery of your package whilst in lockdown or transferring funds on your banking app, these computing infrastructures have contributed to allowing the economy to keep moving forward.

Alluding to the above, more emphasis needs to be placed on cyber security and data protection, given that the pandemic has shaped the cyber risk landscape and will continue to evolve rapidly over the coming years.