Internet helps in China's fight against novel coronavirus

As cases of the novel coronavirus continue to rise in China, Chinese society, enterprises and communities are using the internet to reduce the flow of people and prevent the disease from spreading.

As the number of hospital inquiries surges, Chinese internet giants Alibaba and Tencent have launched remote medical services through their own platforms.

In late January, Ali Health opened a free medical consultation portal on its shopping platform Taobao for users in Hubei where the epidemic was most severe, and hundreds of respiratory physicians have responded online.

China's popular messaging app WeChat has also launched a portal for people to provide clues and suggestions regarding the epidemic. The page will redirect people to an official State Council app for soliciting clues for epidemic prevention and control.

The State Council launched the page on Jan 24 to solicit clues from the public on problems regarding local authorities and departments in the prevention and control of the epidemic.

As people resume work after the Spring Festival holiday, telecom and internet companies such as China Mobile and Tencent have launched free services including video message, video conference, remote consultation to facilitate working from home and reduce the need of traveling.

Government organs have also been moving their services online in an effort to curb the epidemic.

In eastern China's Zhejiang province, the higher people's court has required courts at all levels in the province to give priority to guiding parties to file cases, contact judges, submit materials, hold court sessions or mediate online during the epidemic.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission and other agencies have issued notices to guide investors to conduct off-site trading activities.

In Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, community workers are using a mobile phones app to in epidemic prevention and control.

Hu Xiuhua, head of a community in Jianggan district, said the app has greatly facilitated their work. In one case, they needed to inform another community about a local resident who should be isolated at home.

"We would have to make many calls in the past, but now I can upload the information through my mobile phone and share it directly with the community," said Hu. "We can also contact relevant authorities in Hangzhou and even other parts of the province in a timely manner."

Alibaba's mobile office tool DingTalk has also released a module for daily health status summary of employees through quickly collecting real-time statistics.

As of Jan 27, nearly half a million enterprises and organizations were managing the health of their employees through the module, the company said.

"Through the internet, we strive to magnify the efficiency of social coordination and take joint efforts to deal with the epidemic," said Tao Jun, Alibaba DingTalk's intelligent personnel business director.