Two geographical information system applications to help people shop online and authorities monitor the COVID-19 pandemic, trialled for one month in Thu Duc City, will now be expanded to 11 districts in HCM City.

Built by the HCM City Geographical Information System Application Centre, one of them updates information about more than 400 markets, supermarkets and other businesses to enable people to shop. It can inform users what the businesses supply and recommend those closest to users’ locations and travel routes to reach the place.

The other app will help monitor the pandemic across the city by keeping track of and analysing data such as positive cases, the spread of infection, lockdown areas, quarantine zones, and treatment facilities, and create reports for authorities.

The apps can be used to monitor districts 4, 6, 12, Binh Thanh, Tan Binh, Phu Nhuan, Go Vap, Binh Chanh, Can Gio, Cu Chi, and Nha Be.

Chu Van Hai, deputy director of the city Department of Science and Technology, said the applications proved to be of great help to the public and authorities in Thu Duc City when the pandemic was spreading, and the department wants to help other districts make use of them.

Nguyen Thanh Binh, head of the Phu Nhuan District economic department, said his district would like to get the two as soon as possible.

Viet Nam embraced information technology to combat the pandemic, using the contact tracing Bluezone application and provincial epidemic maps since the early days.

It has had more than 185,000 cases in the current COVID-19 wave that began in late April, with HCM City alone accounting for more than 112,000. — VNS