Health Ministry adopts Twitter to resolve Covid-19 queries

The Union Health Ministry on Monday on-boarded Twitter Seva to help Indians with speedy resolution to their health-related queries amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whether it is for latest updates on measures taken by the government, learning about access to healthcare services or seeking guidance for someone who perhaps has symptoms but is unsure about where to turn to for help, the service will empower the public to reach out to the authorities, Twitter said in a statement.

People in India can get their queries answered by tweeting to @CovidIndiaSeva.

"As #IndiaFightsCorona with social distancing, we are happy to make a concerted online effort by adopting the Twitter Seva solution," said Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

"It is powered by a team of experts who are trained and equipped to treat and respond to each query uniquely, and at scale. This will enable us in establishing a direct channel with Indiancitizens, connecting with them in real-time to provide the authoritative health and public information," Vardhan added.

Twitter Seva is a customised live query redressal service.

It works on a dashboard that helps process large volumes of tweets, converts them into resolvable tickets, and assigns them to the relevant authority for real-time resolution.

These conversations are transparent and everyone on the service can benefit from the responses received from the authorities around common queries. It is only for broader queries and does not require for the public to share personal contact details or health record details.

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"To navigate this global health crisis, we need a collaborative approach between the government and our industry," said Mahima Kaul, Director, Public Policy, India and South Asia, Twitter.

"Our work has never been more critical and our service has never been in higher demand. People from all parts of the country are taking to Twitter to be equipped with the quality information from authoritative sources," she said.

At present, the Twitter Seva ecosystem supports several government partners in India with the live delivery of services.

As an India-first innovation, Twitter Seva is already being used for citizen engagement by the Ministry of Commerce (@DIPPGOI), the Ministry of External Affairs (@MEAIndia), the Department of Telecommunications (@Dot_India), Department of Posts, MTNL, BSNL under the Ministry of Communication, the UP Police (@Uppolice) as well as the Bengaluru Police (@BlrCityPolice).