Global enterprises like IBM and Amazon have considerably ramped up efforts – together with organising vaccination drives and providing paid leaves and insurance coverage – to ensure the well-being of their staff in India because the nation reels beneath a lethal second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an electronic mail to staff, IBM Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna stated the corporate will proceed to take agency and coordinated motion to help IBMers in India and different components of the world the place COVID is surging.
He stated the corporate is supplementing medical protection to ensure COVID-19 look after the workers and has put in place a devoted well being line to present medical care and consultations from medical professionals for staff, who’re isolating at residence.
“We are supporting efforts to increase vaccination among IBMers. For those who volunteer, we are creating a decentralised distribution model where IBMers and their covered family members can get the vaccine in any approved center close to where they live or a facility on our own campuses…we are looking into providing emergency transport services to help IBMers and their families reach medical care in cities where we operate,” Krishna stated.
The large rise in infections in the second wave of the pandemic has led to hospitals in a number of states reeling beneath a scarcity of medical oxygen and beds. Social media timelines are crammed with SOS calls with folks in search of oxygen cylinders, hospital beds, plasma donors, and ventilators.
With India registering a file quantity of COVID-19 instances each day, there could possibly be an influence on timelines for supply of initiatives and IT companies corporations are numerous choices to deal with the problem.
HCL Technologies, for instance, had acknowledged that it’s participating carefully with purchasers to prioritise work, and shifting some workload from India to different geographies to ensure enterprise continuity.
Amazon India Global Senior Vice President and Country Head India Amit Agarwal stated the corporate continues to search for methods to assist staff, together with making a financial institution of oxygen concentrators, oximeters, and different provides.
“We have also launched an initiative where employees who have fully recovered from COVID-19 can volunteer to donate blood plasma and help other Amazonians and their loved ones. Amazonians have volunteered to create COVID warriors groups in cities to coordinate response for those in critical need,” he added.
Agarwal famous that there are Indians in the US and all over the world, who’re reaching out for assist as they’re unable to take care of their household in India.
“We are discussing how we can scale our COVID support team to help with critical supplies,” he stated including that the corporate is engaged on making COVID-19 assessments simply accessible to all staff and is targeted on getting staff vaccinated (as obtainable) when broad eligibility opens up on May 1.
“We have made hotel rooms available for employees and their dependents who have mild COVID-19 symptoms and do not need intensive care for quarantine…Based on a patients’ condition and unavailability of hospital beds, we are using the insurance support to help set up ICU/ventilator at home for COVID-19 treatment,” he additional stated.
Organisations throughout the spectrum have come ahead to supply and donate oxygenators, respiratory machines, and ventilators.
A gaggle of Gurugram-based entrepreneurs have launched ‘Mission Oxygen’ and are importing oxygen concentrators (OCs). While the programme began with a goal of elevating Rs 2.5 crore to procure 500 OCs, greater than 10,000 international donors helped increase greater than Rs 10 crore for 800 extra OCs. The group has now set a goal at Rs 20 crore, which can enable the procurement of not less than 3,000 OCs.
Consumer tech merchandise maker Boat stated it has donated Rs 50 lakh to procure high-grade OCs and important medical provides for hospitals. The boat has partnered with SaveLIFE Foundation to ship the OCs throughout Delhi and can work carefully with the Health Department over the subsequent few days for additional distribution to the hospitals and COVID care facilities. Yellow Messenger, a conversational AI platform, has launched ‘Yellow Messenger Cares’ that can assist NGOs, hospitals, help teams, and companies get an AI chatbot to drive disaster efforts.
When designed and deployed successfully, chatbots might assist forestall misinformation, assist in symptom detection, engender infection-limiting behaviors, encourage constructive well being impacting behaviors, whereas lowering psychological harm brought on by worry and isolation, the corporate stated in an announcement.
These bots can help real-time companies like offering medical data associated to plasma donation, oxygen/hospital mattress availability, vaccine registrations, scheduling appointments, gathering affected person knowledge, psychological well being help, and dealing with insurance coverage queries.
Caller ID app Truecaller has launched a COVID Hospital Directory for customers in India that embrace phone numbers and addresses of COVID-designated hospitals from a number of states throughout the nation, sourced from official authorities databases.
A search button helps customers shortly discover the knowledge they want. However, it doesn’t guarantee hospital mattress availability.
“We wanted to quickly introduce a simple directory of important numbers for COVID-related services. We have started with this hospital list and we’re working to add more verified sources soon,” Truecaller India Managing Director Rishit Jhunjhunwala stated.
Shiprocket, a tech-enabled logistics aggregation platform, has launched a free service whereby it’ll present free delivery of important gadgets for NGOs and non-profit organisations which can be in search of help.
Organisations working to ship gadgets corresponding to groceries, important medicine, medical gear, and private protecting gear might be eligible to avail Shiprocket’s free delivery companies to provide the products to hospitals or these in want.
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