SMS and hotline to manage home quarantined COVID patients in Western Province

The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) yesterday announced a SMS-based system to manage home quarantined COVID-19 patients. 

It has initiated this system in collaboration with the National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), the Ministry of Health, Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC), and mobile operators; SLT-Mobitel, Dialog Axiata, Hutch, and Airtel.

This system will be made available to citizens in the Western Province with effect from 19 August. The public can simply send an SMS to 1904 classifying the patient’s health status under the following categories.

A: COVID-19 patients with breathing difficulty 

B: COVID-19 patients with symptoms

C: COVID-19 patients with no symptoms

The following format should be used to send information to 1904

<Symptom Code> <Age> <NIC> <Address>. For example: <A> <65> <507990532V> <Aluthgama>.

The information will be captured by the National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) and directed to the nearest medical team, who will connect with the patient via hotline 247 for further investigation on the health condition. Thereafter, based on the condition, ambulance services will be offered to dispatch the patient to the nearest hospital for immediate treatment. 

Based on the health condition, if the patient is home quarantined, they can speak to a medical professional for further advice via 1390.

ICTA Chairman Oshada Senanayake said: “At this crucial juncture of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s imperative that we maximise the use of technology in ensuring maximum safety of citizens and the rapid development of the solution is an example of a whole of government approach with close collaboration between ICTA, TRC and the Telco industry under the guidance of the Technology Ministry and we would continue to enable technology-driven solutions in support of National COVID-19 eradication initiatives.”