Pakistan rolls out AI for area-based COVID-19 risk ratings

Pakistan has developed an Artificial Intelligence system to mark areas and divide them according to their coronavirus risk rating, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said Friday.

The video-based risk detection technology developed by the company Love For Data has helped the National Command and Control Centre and Pakistan Army in measuring risk at shops and cattle markets, the premier's aide said.

Dr Sultan, talking about how it works, said that the AI analyses mask adherence, social distancing, gender detection, along with 10 other variables.

These are then used to "assist district authorities to strengthen their SOP implementation and adopt a localised strategy to prevent [COVID-19] spread".

Images shared by Dr Sultan showed people marked in green boxes keeping the required distance, whereas those marked in red boxes were seen to be standing too close to others.

Pakistan has claimed success in curbing the coronavirus pandemic, with a little over 15,932 active cases and 265,215 recoveries.

PM Imran Khan has time and again credited the decline in cases to the federal government's "smart lockdown" policy — restrictions imposed in coronavirus hotspots. 

The country has recorded a total of 287,300 overall coronavirus cases with 6,153 deaths, according to official figures by the government.