Enhancing Malaysia's disaster and management via innovation - spotlighting on drones

by Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid bt Dato Syed Ahmad Idid, 

Malaysians were caught by surprise by the torrential downpour, caused by Tropical Depression 29W, throughout the peninsula for three days from December 17 which continued until December 19 resulting in a peak daily rainfall of 363 millimeters (14.3 in), equivalent to a month’s worth of rainfall in the region worst affected, Selangor. Klang and Shah Alam in Selangor were the most badly affected areas. Some areas in the State of Pahang too were ravaged by the floods.

Videos widely circulated showed overflowing rivers, landslides, major roads cut off, stranded motorists, homes, buildings, and cars submerged, buried and some washed away, as well as many residents rushing to higher levels including rooftops to keep safe. As of 27th December 2021, 48 persons perished due to these floods and 5 are still missing

This deadliest tropical cyclone-related disaster to hit Malaysia had demonstrated that the nation was ill-prepared to respond to this crisis. Global warming linked to extreme weather including worsening floods was among the factors attributed to this climate crisis.

Furthermore with the mass movement of people there was fear of covid cases and deaths escalating.

Public fury's 

Videos of many stranded on rooftops, suffering from cold and hunger with no immediate rescue from relevant Government agencies, only to be offered help and support from and saved by caring fellow citizens, NGOs, and religious groups including mosques and the Sikh house of worship committee members, and their congregation, as well as foreigners, has sparked the public’s anger on the role and response of the Government to and during this crisis.

Among key issues raised were there no early warning of the torrential rain given, and the uncoordinated and slow response in rescue and relief efforts provided by the relevant authorities.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had explained that rescue teams had difficulties in getting into Taman Sri Muda as floodwaters had risen rapidly and were unable to carry out their work as the roads were also blocked by stranded vehicles. Additionally, the Premier said rescue teams faced problems initially responding to victims stranded on rooftops as they could not see the addresses as the road signs had been submerged.

As It is globally recognized that the probability of finding survivors is highest within the immediate 72 hours following a disaster, the slow rescue and relief efforts had caused grave concerns that the death toll and damages to properties would further escalate.

As floods become more severe and more frequent, governments and authorities across multiple levels of government; districts, states, and National must embrace and invest in advanced technologies which are revolutionizing disaster management efforts.

One of the many challenges of responding to a natural disaster is the difficulty in determining the location and extent of the damage including the location of victims for effectively mobilizing rescue and relief efforts

As Location tracking of the disaster area and victims of the disaster including floods within 72 hours is one of the fundamental aspects of disaster management several technologies including drones can be used to pinpoint the location of victims, damaged sites, buildings, floodplains, emergency service resources, and disaster relief sites.

Additionally, knowing where resources and relief centers are located will facilitate the government to easily communicate with each other about the resources they have and where and how to distribute these to flood victims as well as to accommodate them in the nearest relief centers. 

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) aka Aerial drones and Underwater Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) are being used worldwide for a myriad of applications including aerial photography, agricultural monitoring, infrastructure inspection, construction, media production, as well as in research and development

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) with various types of onboard sensors and advanced computer technologies which are able to fly in life-threatening conditions are fast becoming useful tools for large-scale aerial mapping providing aerial photographs of inaccessible disaster areas without risking human health and safety

UAVs have several advantages including their capability to fly to places manned aircraft cannot, flying at low altitudes, overcoming lack of visibility when there is cloud cover resulting in images from drones being of higher resolution than satellite

Underwater drones facilitate responders' efforts in examining infrastructure and coordinating rescue efforts in heavily flooded areas.

It is reported that Fast observation drones can reach the scene quicker than the emergency services (so long as they can be flown Beyond the Visual Line of Sight) and provide real-time aerial imagery and information that could help with decisions about the best way to deal with an incident.

While Government and the public are rightfully concerned regarding illegal and irresponsible drone usage, the former has introduced regulations to ensure the safe and secure operations of drones. However in recognizing the unique features of drones including their lower cost of collecting spatial data compared to other remote sensing platforms, their capacity to fly under cloud cover, and their ability to collect both video and extremely high-resolution imagery. they are now increasingly being used in search and rescue operations to support national emergency and disaster management including searching for victims of hazards including floods in remote and inaccessible areas as well as to transport emergency medical supplies, first aid, and essential food items to the areas

In tandem with these developments, new regulations and policies have been introduced by several countries worldwide for the use of drones for commercial, non-hobby purposes including their use by first responders as part of disaster response and assessment operations.

Drones used in emergency and disaster management-international experience

The World Economic Forum (WEF) 08 Jan 2018 had dovetailed that Technological innovation is bringing digital solutions to sectors that have previously lacked access to technology, including the non-profit community. The rapid pace of this change suggests that one of technology’s most meaningful benefits for society may lie in the humanitarian sector, which must reach large numbers of people, in remote and dangerous locations, to provide critical resources fast and efficiently.

From aerial robotics to big data analytics, technology presents the opportunity to expedite and magnify the impact of humanitarian relief efforts through greater efficiency and responsiveness; reaching more people, sooner, more cost-effectively, and saving more lives.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) had outlined that Earth observation data is also increasingly available from aircraft, particularly unmanned aerial vehicles (or drones). Improvements in materials and electronic control systems have provided increasing drone range, along with the ability to attach high-resolution digital cameras, advanced global positioning technologies, and sophisticated computing power. 

A number of countries have incorporated drones into the National Emergency and Disaster Management operations including the US in 2005 to search for Hurricane Katrina survivors in Mississippi, in 2016 to collect data during floods in Louisiana and Texas, and the Philippines in 2013 for mapping and disaster assessment during the response to Typhoon Haiyan, by India’s National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) during the Uttarakhand floods of 2015 to look for survivors, even in inaccessible regions and by Vanuatu in 2015 to evaluate structural damage in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam.

Reuters, 18 November 2017 reported that drones were deployed during Hurricane Maria which devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017 and wreaked havoc on the nation’s wireless and broadband communications networks, along with its power grid, and triggered a massive humanitarian crisis. With 39 percent of its cell sites remaining out of service, the U.S. territory had struggled to regain communications services.

CBInsights had reported that UAVs were deployed to gather information on food, water, and medical shortages experienced by the survivors of Hurricane Maria. The drones used relied on computer-vision technology to identify survivors and pattern-recognition technologies to determine which type of emergency assistance to facilitate.

In November 2021, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved AT&T’s request to use a new drone known as the Flying Cow or Cell on Wings to help restore cellular service in Puerto Rico. The Pulse Vapor 55 drone, which flies 200 feet above the ground, covering an area of 40 square miles functions like a cell tower in the sky, providing voice, data, and internet service.

WEF highlighted that the global non-profit WeRobotics’ program, AidRobotics, identifies local humanitarian needs and incubates robotics solutions via regional Flying Labs™. Following extensive flooding in 2017, Peru Flying Labs formed the Mision PIURA multistakeholder consortium to create high-resolution aerial images of more than 7,000 hectares (nearly 17,300 acres) in just three days. These maps provided humanitarian agencies with a detailed understanding of the region including infrastructure damage, locations of stranded communities, safe areas for resettlement, and efficient routes for aid delivery. Digital elevation models enabled the government to continually monitor water level changes throughout the region.

The European Commission spotlighted that in 2017 as the world saw 335 natural disasters, affecting over 95.6 million people and resulting in 9 697 deaths and nearly EUR 300 billion in damages, many emergency first responders were leveraging the power of drones to quickly locate victims and get them the support they needed.

Future water reported that on 15 March 2019 Cyclone Idai hit the coast of Mozambique causing devastating damage and severe flooding in the region. They used drone imagery to localize stranded communities in areas that are inaccessible by road transport. This information was used to improve the routing of the rescue boats for food supply and evacuation.

Nextrendsasia reported that Korean National Forest Research Institute opened a Landslide Prediction Analysis Center in May 2020 to better prepare for heavy rains every summer. The institute announced that the center would scientifically prevent landslides by using unmanned landslide surveillance sensors and drones. The drones analyze real-time rainfall levels and conduct on-site investigations after the landslides occur to detect their causes and human injuries if needed. The Korean Police officially announced the use of drones in 2019 by enacting drone operation rules and hiring drone experts with applicable licenses. As of May 2021, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency secured nine drones and supported 50 employees in obtaining drone licenses. Drones have been used to search for missing people, search at disaster sites, and deal with situations with the risk of suicide.

Public-private sector collaboration for disaster management- the Korean experience 

Trilateral Best Practices: Application of Technology for Reducing Disaster Risks in China, Japan, and Korea July 2021 showcased Korea’s Public-private partnered emergency drone operation team for disaster response.

It shared that since it introduced drones as part of its disaster investigation equipment in 2013, the National Disaster Management Research Institute of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has been using drones to investigate damages caused by typhoons and torrential rains and conducted research on the use of drones in the areas of disasters and safety to enhance national disaster management capabilities the government and private sector became partners for national disaster management, creating the ‘Emergency Drone Operation Team for Disaster Response’ (hereafter, ‘emergency drone operation team’), composed of individual drone owners who hold official drone qualifications.

The Korea Aero Models Association verifies members’ drone expertise, and the drone owners participate in disaster management activities on a voluntary basis. The emergency drone operation team came up with its disaster response plans in 2017 and launched the operation in 2018 in cooperation with 89 individual drone experts in the areas that were affected by Typhoon Soulik, allowing it to assess the potential for using drones in disaster management.

The emergency drone operation team serves as a good example of citizen participation and cooperation, as it involves individual drone operators’ donating their talent for national disaster management. The team aims to strengthen region-based disaster response capabilities by maintaining great interaction with government agencies, including police stations, fire stations, and local governments, on a strong basis of the private drone infrastructure across the country. In addition to typhoon emergency response, the emergency drone operation team has supported searches for missing persons, such as elderly dementia patients and those suspected of committing suicide.

In the disaster response process, efficiency can be improved by strategically harnessing private sector resources, particularly when it is difficult to resolve a situation using only government-led manpower and equipment. Therefore, the active participation of the private sector in the disaster response process is not an option but a necessity in the governance of disaster management.

The disaster management paradigm is shifting toward greater public-private partnership, where the citizens and the government work together closely. The activities of the emergency drone operation team have filled the voids and overcome the limitations of the government’s drone resources and management. Recognized for its excellence and innovation in cooperation between the government and citizens in disaster management activities, the achievements of the emergency drone operation team were selected as a best practice by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for two consecutive years from 2018 to 2019.

Recommendations for Malaysia 

1. As Drones are fast becoming standard operation in many emergency situations due to their unique features It is recommended that the Malaysian Government adopt this international best practice to enhance national emergency and disaster management aimed at saving lives and protecting as well as reducing damages to infrastructures and properties

2. As Malaysia has a number of drone specialists, the Government could develop a directory of these specialists to invite and engage them to support the nation’s disaster management

3. A number of drone suppliers are providing services in several aspects of the economy in Malaysia. The Government could invite these companies to deliver a presentation on their products and services to identify their suitability as partners in Malaysia’s Disaster Management efforts

4. MCMC and MDeC have portfolios in drone policy and regulations and should be invited by the Government to discuss new policies and regulations that may be needed to support and facilitate the usage of drones in Malaysia’s Disaster Management efforts

5. Disaster Management personnel from NADMA, Police, and Armed forces could identify a select number of personnel under training on drones to enhance their skills in this technology with the aim to further strengthen Malaysia’s Emergency and Disaster skills, competency, efforts, and management.

Using drones in disaster management

by Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid bt Dato Syed Ahmad Idid, 

As floods become more severe and frequent, the government and authorities must embrace and invest in advanced technologies like drones, which are revolutionizing disaster management efforts.

Drones can be used to pinpoint the location of victims, damaged sites, buildings, floodplains, emergency service resources, and disaster relief sites.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), aerial drones, and unmanned underwater vehicles are used worldwide for aerial photography, agricultural monitoring, infrastructure inspection, construction, media production, as well as in research and development.

UAVs with sensors and advanced computer technologies able to fly in life-threatening conditions are used for large-scale aerial mapping, providing aerial photographs of inaccessible disaster areas without risking human health and safety.

They can fly to places manned aircraft cannot, flying at low altitudes, overcoming lack of visibility when there is cloud cover, resulting in images from drones being of higher resolution than satellites.

Drones are used in search-and-rescue operations, including searching for victims in remote and inaccessible areas, as well as transporting medical supplies, first aid, and food items to these areas.

In 2005, the United States incorporated drones into disaster management operations to search for Hurricane Katrina survivors in Mississippi and to collect data during floods in Louisiana and Texas in 2016.

The Philippines used them for mapping and disaster assessment in response to Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

India's National Disaster Relief Force used them during the Uttarakhand floods of 2015 to look for survivors, and Vanuatu used them when evaluating structural damage post-Cyclone Pam in 2015.

The drones that were used relied on computer-vision technology to identify survivors and pattern-recognition technologies to determine which type of emergency assistance to facilitate.

Emergency first responders have been leveraging the power of drones to quickly locate victims and get them the required support.

Future water reported that on March 15, 2019, when Cyclone Idai hit the coast of Mozambique causing devastating damage and severe flooding in the region, drone imagery was used to localise stranded communities in areas inaccessible by road transport.

This information was used to improve the routing of rescue boats for food supply and evacuation.

Nextrendsasia reported that South Korea's National Forest Research Institute opened a Landslide Prediction Analysis Centre in May 2020 to better prepare for heavy rains every summer.

South Korean police announced the use of drones in 2019 by hiring drone experts.

Since 2013, South Korea's National Disaster Management Research Institute of the Interior and Safety Ministry has been using drones to investigate damage caused by typhoons and torrential rains.

The South Korean government and private sector became partners in national disaster management, creating the Emergency Drone Operation Team for Disaster Response, comprising drone owners who hold official drone qualifications.

For Malaysia, it is recommended that:

AS drones are fast becoming standard operation in many emergency situations, the government should adopt this international best practice aimed at saving lives and protecting as well as reducing damage to infrastructures and properties;

AS Malaysia has a number of drone specialists, the government could develop a directory of these specialists to invite and engage them to support disaster management;

SEVERAL drone suppliers are providing services to the economy. The government could invite these companies to deliver a presentation on their products and services to identify their suitability as partners in disaster management;

THE Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation have portfolios in drone policies and regulations and should be invited by the government to discuss new policies and regulations that may be needed to support and facilitate the use of drones in disaster management; and,

DISASTER management personnel from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), police, and armed forces could identify some personnel to undergo training on drones.

Enhancing disaster management with drones

by Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid bt Dato Syed Ahmad Idid, 

Malaysians were caught by surprise by the torrential downpour caused by Tropical Depression 29W throughout the peninsula from Dec 17 to 19. Several areas in Selangor and Pahang, in particular, were ravaged by floods.

Videos were circulated showing overflowing rivers, landslides, major roads cut off, and motorists stranded. Homes, buildings, and cars were submerged, buried and some washed away. Many residents had to rush to higher levels, including rooftops, to keep safe.

This deadliest tropical cyclone-related disaster to hit the country demonstrated that Malaysia was ill-prepared to respond to a crisis of this nature. Among the factors mentioned in relation to the disaster is that global warming is contributing to extreme weather events, including worsening floods, which are increasing in frequency.

Public's fury

Videos of people stranded on rooftops, suffering from cold and hunger while waiting to be rescued, have sparked the public’s anger over the government’s response to this crisis.

Insufficient early warning of the torrential rain and the uncoordinated and slow response of rescue and relief efforts provided by the authorities were factors that contributed to the public’s fury.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob explained that rescue teams had faced difficulties in getting into Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam as floodwaters had risen rapidly. Rescuers were unable to carry out their work as the roads were blocked by stranded vehicles. Reportedly, the teams could not respond to victims stranded on rooftops as they could not see the road signs that had been submerged.

It is globally recognized that the probability of finding survivors is highest within the first 72 hours following a disaster. So, the slow rescue and relief efforts caused grave concern that the death toll and damage to property would escalate.

As floods become more severe and more frequent, the government at the district, state, and national levels must embrace and invest in advanced technologies that are revolutionizing disaster management.

One of the many challenges of responding to a natural disaster is the difficulty of determining the location and extent of the damage. Locating victims to effectively mobilize rescue and relief efforts is also a pressing issue. In this regard, drones can be used to pinpoint the location of victims, damaged sites, buildings, floodplains, emergency service resources, and disaster relief sites.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), aka drones, are being used worldwide for myriad applications, including aerial photography, agricultural monitoring, infrastructure inspection, construction, and media production, as well as in research and development.

The Asian Development Bank has noted that improvements in materials and electronic control systems have made drones very useful. Their range has increased and their capabilities enhanced with high-resolution digital cameras, advanced global positioning technologies, and sophisticated computing power.

UAVs are being equipped with various types of onboard sensors and advanced computer technologies with unique properties, including the ability to be deployed in life-threatening conditions and at low altitudes. The images from drones are of higher resolution than satellite pictures. They are fast becoming useful tools for large-scale aerial mapping, providing aerial photographs of inaccessible disaster areas without risking human health and safety. Underwater drones facilitate responders’ efforts to examine infrastructure and coordinate rescue efforts in heavily flooded areas.

In tandem with these developments, new regulations and policies have been introduced by several countries for the use of drones for commercial, non-hobby purposes, including their use by first responders as part of disaster response and assessment operations.

Drones used in emergency and disaster management 

In January 2018, the World Economic Forum (WEF) had flagged that technological innovation is bringing digital solutions to sectors that have previously lacked access to technology, including the non-profit community. The rapid pace of this change suggests that one of technology’s most meaningful benefits for society may lie in the humanitarian sector, which must reach large numbers of people in remote and dangerous locations to provide critical resources quickly and save more lives.

A number of countries have incorporated drones into their National Emergency and Disaster Management operations, including the US in 2005 to search for Hurricane Katrina survivors in Mississippi and by India’s National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) to look for survivors during the Uttarakhand floods of 2015, even in inaccessible regions.

Drones were also used by Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria in 2017, which devastated the nation and wreaked havoc on its wireless and broadband communications networks, along with its power grid. With 39% of the US territory’s cell sites out of service, Puerto Rico had struggled to regain communications services.

Mozambique used them in 2019 during Cyclone Idai, which caused severe flooding in the region.

In November 2021, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had approved AT&T’s request to use a new drone known as the Flying Cow or Cell on Wings to help restore cellular service in Puerto Rico. The Pulse Vapor 55 drone, which flies 60m above the ground covering an area of 100 sq km, functions like a cell tower in the sky, providing voice, data and internet services. Mozambique used drone imagery to localize stranded communities in areas that were inaccessible by road transport. This information was used to improve the routing of rescue boats for food supply and evacuation.

Public-private sector collaboration for disaster management - the Korean experience

The report, “Trilateral Best Practices: Application of Technology for Reducing Disaster Risks in China, Japan and Korea” (July 2021), showcased South Korea’s emergency drone operation team for disaster response, which is the result of a public-private partnership.

Since South Korea introduced drones as part of its disaster investigation equipment in 2013, the National Disaster Management Research Institute of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has been using drones to investigate damage caused by typhoons and torrential rains to enhance national disaster management capabilities.

The government and private sector became partners for national disaster management, creating the “Emergency Drone Operation Team for Disaster Response”, composed of individual drone owners who hold official drone qualifications.

The emergency drone operation team serves as an exemplar of citizen participation and cooperation, as it involves individual drone operators donating their talent for national disaster management. The team aims to strengthen region-based disaster response capabilities by maintaining interaction with government agencies, including police stations, fire stations, and local governments.

As the disaster management paradigm is shifting towards greater public-private partnerships, citizens and the government work together closely, particularly when it is difficult to resolve a situation using only government-led manpower and equipment.

The report noted that the active participation of the private sector in the disaster response process is not an option but a necessity in the governance of disaster management.

Recommendations for Malaysia

1.    As drones are fast becoming standard equipment in many emergency situations due to their unique features, it is recommended that the government adopt this international best practice to enhance national emergency and disaster management to save lives and protect and reduce damage to infrastructure and property.

2.    As the country has a number of drone specialists, the government could develop a directory of these specialists to engage them to support disaster management.

3.    A number of drone suppliers are providing services for various economic activities in the country. The government could invite these companies to deliver a presentation on their products and services to identify their suitability as partners in disaster management efforts.

4.    The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation have portfolios on drone policies and regulations. The government should invite them to discuss new policies and regulations that may be needed to support and facilitate the use of drones in disaster management efforts.

5.    Disaster management personnel from the National Disaster Management Agency, police, and the armed forces could identify a select number of personnel to undergo training on drones to enhance their skills in this technology with the aim of further strengthening the country’s emergency and disaster skills, competency, efforts, and management.

Using Drones for Managing the COVID-19 pandemic

by Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid bt Dato Syed Ahmad Idid,  

The COVID-19 pandemic, causing infections and deaths from the SARS-COV-2 virus and its variants including Delta and presently Omicron, continues to create health, social, industry, and economic crises.

Apart from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) espoused by the World Health Organisation (WHO), including vaccination, washing hands with sanitizers and soap plus keeping a physical distance of between one and two meters, several countries have introduced innovations to manage the pandemic, including technological innovation – the use of unmanned aerial vehicles aka drones.

Drones can be used in various ways to manage the pandemic. These include delivering essentials including medical and food supplies, maintaining security, undertaking surveillance and inspection including crowd monitoring to ensure compliance in wearing masks and physical distancing, broadcasting, surveying, mapping, spraying or dispensing, and sanitization.

Delivering COVID-19 vaccines

i) Delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Ghana, Africa

Brookings, an American research group, in its paper titled Assessing the Impact of Drones in the Global COVID Response, reported that Zipline, one of the world’s largest and best-known drone delivery companies, had been trialing its drone delivery systems for light-weight medical supplies in Rwanda and Ghana for years by the time the pandemic hit, working closely with policymakers more willing to accommodate delivery drones in their airspace than authorities in the United States, European Union countries, and other, larger nations.

Zipline’s largely autonomous drones can carry a payload of up to 3.9 pounds (1.76 kg) almost 50 miles (80 km). Since 2019, the company has been working to build Ghana’s drone delivery infrastructure in concert with Pfizer, Ghana’s Health Ministry, UPS, and other partners. These efforts laid the groundwork for a system that could easily be expanded when the pandemic began. In a June 2021 interview, Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo said the company had delivered at least 2.6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses (primarily of the Aztra-Zeneca vaccine which does not require temperatures as cool as those needed for the MRNA vaccines) in Ghana.

ii) Delivering COVID-19 vaccines in the United States

Biopharma-reporter.com reported in 31 August 2021 that the first vaccine drone delivery program system in the United States was launched by the North Carolina-based health system Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. Operated by UPS and its subsidiary UPS Flight Forward, the Matternet M2 drones, are outfitted with a special cargo box that contains Cold Chain Technologies’ customized PCM Gel Solution, a temperature-sensitive packaging mixture that maintains the COVID vaccines at 2-8 °C, and a temperature monitoring device that monitors the vaccine temperature while in transit, are delivering vaccines from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre in Winston-Salem to one of the health system’s family medicine practices located at Piedmont Plaza, about a one-mile (1.6 km) drive by car.

Biopharma-reporter.com dovetailed that this program is the second COVID-19 vaccine drone delivery operation globally following the drone deliveries in Ghana.

iii) Delivering COVID-19 vaccines in India 

WHO had highlighted that India is using indigenously developed drones to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to access-compromised areas and strengthen the vaccine delivery system.

The ICMR-led pilot project is being rolled out in Manipur, Nagaland and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The inaugural flight of the Indian Council of Medical Research Drone Response and Outreach in North East (i-Drone) delivered 900 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the Old DC Complex in Bishnupur district in Manipur to the Karang Primary Health Centre (PHC), which is on an island in Loktak Lake. These doses were used to vaccinate 25 people at the Karang PHC on the first day of the initiative on 4 October 2021.

The drone delivered the vaccines over 31 km in less than 15 minutes from the District Hospital in Bishnupur to the Karang PHC compared to the three to four hours needed to transport the vaccines to Loktak Lake, which is the largest natural freshwater lake in India.

The i-Drone project will also deliver vaccines from plains to plains, plains to hills, and plains to islands in the districts of Imphal West, Churachandpur, and Tamenglong in Manipur.

Ferrying medical equipment

Brookings further highlighted that in the United States, a number of companies conducted drone delivery trials during the pandemic, usually operating with special, tightly limited waivers for flight beyond visual line of sight issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In May 2020, Zipline partnered with North Carolina’s Novant Health to ferry small items like masks, gloves, and gowns weighing no more than four pounds (1.81 kg) between a medical center and a supply storage location, making trips of 20 to 30 miles (32 km to 48 km).

Thus, it is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged governments, academia, and businesses to seek new innovative solutions for transporting urgent and time-sensitive medical supplies, particularly in more remote areas of the country which may be difficult via existing transportation network, revolutionizing the health sector.

Transporting food toCOVID patients 

Reuters on 1 September 2021 reported that a group of drone enthusiasts in Indonesia was using their aerial skills to help during the pandemic by providing a contactless medicine and food delivery service to COVID-19 patients isolated at home.

Armed with five drones, the seven-member team has been working around the clock in Makassar, the capital of the South Sulawesi province, since early July to provide deliveries.

Hartati, who along with her family has been self-isolating since she tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-August, welcomed the innovative service.

Surveillance and Monitoring 

Drones are being deployed to monitor physical distancing, quarantine rules, and lockdown compliance.

Governments in a number of countries, including China, the United States, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and India, are using drones to check whether the people are wearing masks and to deter gatherings that violate physical distancing rules.

The magazine Popular Mechanics reported that despite public health officials recommending physical distancing policies and governments banning large events and shuttering businesses to stop the spread of COVID-19, some people still aren't listening, and thus to keep people indoors, Spanish authorities are using drones, mounted with microphones, to scold people who aren't self-quarantining.

Geospatial World, another magazine, had spotlighted that in addition to street surveillance, authorities are also using drones to broadcast messages and information about lockdown measures, especially in rural areas that lack open communication channels for health information. Drones equipped with loudspeakers are used to make public announcements to keep people indoors, take necessary precautions, maintain physical distancing and wear a mask if stepping out of their homes. China and many European countries are using drones for broadcasting messages to the public.

Geospatial World further shared that a Global Times video on Twitter had shown a drone hovering over a village in Inner Mongolia, warning an old lady with audio in Chinese “Yes, grandmother, it’s the drone who is talking to you. You should not go out without wearing a mask. You’d better go home and don’t forget to wash your hands,”

However, the use of drones for surveillance raises a debate about privacy and individual rights. Brookings highlighted that a court in Paris ruled that city authorities couldn’t use drones to monitor physical distancing, and communities in the United States snapped back at their use by the local police.

Spraying 

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the critical need to maximize the cleanliness of public spaces and disinfect these areas to reduce virus transmission.

UAV dealer DroneNerds outlined that as the world faces the unknown with the coronavirus pandemic, public officials have turned to agricultural drones to help them guard against the spread of COVID-19 pathogens. Why agricultural drones? Unmanned agricultural aircraft are equipped to spray chemicals. Their spraying capabilities have been adapted to disinfectant duties.

During the pandemic, the need to disinfect large areas was presenting a problem for public health officials in China, where COVID-19 was first encountered. Using handheld spraying equipment deployed by ground crews threatened the safety of personnel. It was time-consuming, so workers spent a great deal of time potentially exposed to chemicals and pathogens.

Technology company DJI went to work to find an alternative to ground-applied disinfectants over wide areas. The company, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of civilian drones, started by pledging US$1.5 million to China’s pandemic control efforts. Then it worked on adapting Agras agricultural drones to disinfection duties.

DJI, working with county governments in China, has used agricultural drones to disinfect about 6.5 billion square feet across 1,000 counties. The drones have disinfected outdoor areas, traffic hubs, residential developments, factories, industrial parks, and waste treatment plants. Drones sprayed disinfectant on more than 32 million square feet of surfaces in Shenzhen province alone, including road surfaces in contaminated neighborhoods.

To disinfect, crews load the agricultural drones with chlorine or ethyl-alcohol mixtures. DJI has worked with officials to find the best concentrations based on circumstances, including whether the area is known to be infected or not. Spraying has reduced the risks workers face compared with ground-based applications.

Brookings reported that as the pandemic spread around the globe, the downside of this chemical craze became apparent. Wildlife died from overexposure to chemicals, workers were placed at risk of chemical exposure, and calls to poison control centers about exposure to chemicals skyrocketed. And, COVID infection rates continued to rise. By May 2020, WHO had recommended against the “routine application of disinfectants to environmental surfaces by spraying or fogging.” By April 2021, the EPA stated that it “does not recommend” applying pesticide products with wide-range spraying tools like drones “unless the pesticide product label specifically includes disinfection directions” for that method.

While expert opinion has turned against the spraying of public areas with disinfectants –including with drones – there still appears to be demand for such services. In October 2020, the Atlanta Falcons announced a partnership with a drone disinfection company to hose down its stadiums. Ahead of the 2021 spring training season, drones were used to sanitize at least one baseball stadium. And in March 2021, an Arizona auction house said it would rely on the drone-maker Draganfly to hose down its facility. Ultimately, these disinfecting drones likely do very little to reduce the spread of the virus, but they do give companies and venues an eye-catching way to reassure the public that they’re doing something.

UNICEF's Recommendations on How Drones Can Be Used to Combat COVID-19  

1. Appropriate financial and human resources need to be in place in order to have drone technology that is available when needed - either through service contracts or by having the local organizational capacity to run drone operations. It also needs to take international movement, health, and supply restrictions into consideration.

2. Establishing procurement algorithms that are built on selecting the most cost-efficient service that offers quality (service and technology), agility, sustainability, compliance, and other key elements.

3. Drone program implementation cannot be done without local skills and capacity. Therefore, local education and knowledge transfer is the key enabler. This does not only apply to people who can run drone operations but also to governmental entities and the health sector that are the ultimate end-users of this technology.

4. Drone utilization is not possible unless there is a local regulation enabling safe drone operations.

5. Local sensitization of communities and stakeholders needs to be done before and during the drone program implementation, in order to inform the public and raise awareness about the technology, ultimately ensuring local social and political acceptance.

6. Drone integration into the health supply chain has to be shaped and determined by the design of the existing health supply chain system, taking into consideration the problem that drones are solving, the purpose of the use of this technology, as well as clarifying whether drones are the cost-effective alternative to existing transport modalities.

Recommendations for Malaysia 

A. Malaysia should consider investing in and using drones to offer innovative solutions for its medical and social sectors. The Ministry of Health could consider deploying drones for transportation of COVID-19 vaccines, other vaccines, and medical supplies to areas difficult to access.

B. The food and beverage sector could use drones to deliver food and other essentials, especially to COVID-19 patients self-isolating at home instead of delivery riders as a means to protect human interaction.

C. Respecting public privacy, only when necessary, the National Security Council (MKN) in partnership with MoH and other enforcement agencies could deploy drones in particular in crowded spaces such as stadiums, and polling stations including the coming Johor State Election 2022 or PRN JOHOR 2022 to monitor SOP compliance.

Use of drones for managing Covid-19 pandemic

 by Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid bt Dato Syed Ahmad Idid,  

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to create health, social, industrial, and economic crises, posing a variety of challenges to public and private services.

Several countries have introduced innovations to manage the pandemic, including the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, to deliver essentials such as medical and food supplies and for security, surveillance, and inspection. For example, drones are used to monitor crowds to ensure compliance with wearing masks and social distancing, as well as for broadcasting, surveying, and mapping. They are also being deployed to spray or dispense sanitization.

Delivering Covid-19 vaccines

The Brookings research institute, in its paper titled Assessing the Impact of Drones in the Global Covid Response, reported that Zipline, one of the world’s largest and best-known drone delivery companies, had run trials of its drone delivery systems for lightweight medical supplies in Rwanda and Ghana before the pandemic, working closely with policymakers more willing to accommodate delivery drones in their airspace than authorities in the US, the EU and other, larger jurisdictions.

Zipline’s largely autonomous drones can carry a payload of up to 1.7kg almost 80km and since 2019, the company has been working to build Ghana’s drone delivery infrastructure in concert with drug maker Pfizer, Ghana’s health ministry, delivery service provider UPS, and other partners. These efforts laid the groundwork for a system that could easily be expanded when the pandemic began. In a June 2021 interview, Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo said the company had delivered at least 2.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines (primarily the Aztra-Zeneca vaccine, which does not require the low temperatures needed for the mRNA vaccines) in Ghana. The company planned to deliver over 2.4 million more doses, with a particular focus on remote and roadless areas, by the end of last year.

UPS reported on Aug 21, 2021, that the company and its subsidiary, UPS Flight Forward, are operating the first-ever US drone Covid-19 vaccine delivery operation. This program is the second Covid-19 vaccine drone delivery operation globally following the drone deliveries in Ghana.

Venturebeat.com highlighted that Matternet drones were outfitted with a special cargo box that contains Cold Chain Technologies’ customized Phase Change Material Gel Solution, a temperature-­sensitive packaging mixture that maintains the Covid-19 vaccine at 2°C to 8°C, and a temperature monitoring device that monitors the vaccine temperature while in transit. These drones were used to deliver Covid-19 vaccines from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center to one of the health system’s family medicine practices located at Piedmont Plaza, over 1km away.

UPS disclosed that its drone airline received first-of-its-kind approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to carry alkaline and lithium batteries, which are needed to power the temperature monitoring devices required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Covid-19 vaccine transport. 

The World Health Organization has highlighted that India is using locally developed drones to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to compromised areas and strengthen the vaccine delivery system.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) led (i-Drone) pilot project is being rolled out in the remote states of Manipur and Nagaland and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The inaugural flight of the ICMR’s Drone Response and Outreach in Northeast India, covering 31km in less than 15 minutes, compared with the three to four hours needed to transport the vaccines to Loktak Lake, delivered 900 doses of Covid-19 vaccine from the Old DC Complex in Bishnupur district in Manipur to Karang Primary Health Centre, which is on an island in Loktak Lake. These doses were used to vaccinate 25 people at Karang PHC on the first day of the initiative on Oct 4, 2021.

Ferrying medical equipment

Brookings further highlighted that in the US, a number of companies conducted drone delivery trials during the pandemic, usually operating with special, tightly limited waivers for flight beyond visual line of sight issued by the FAA. In May 2020, Zipline partnered with North Carolina’s Novant Health to ferry small items like masks, gloves, and gowns weighing no more than 1.8kg between a medical center and a supply storage location, making trips of about 30km to 50km.

Transporting food to COVID-19  patient 

On Sept 1, 2021, Reuters reported that a group of drone enthusiasts in Indonesia was using their aerial skills to help during the pandemic by providing a contactless medicine and food delivery service to Covid-19 patients isolated at home.

Armed with five drones, the seven-member team has been working around the clock in Makassar, the capital of the South Sulawesi province, since early July last year to provide deliveries. 

Surveillance and monitoring 

Drones are being deployed in a number of countries, including China, the US, Spain, France, the UK, and India, to monitor social distancing, quarantine rules, and lockdown compliance.

As a case in point, Popular Mechanics magazine reported that despite public health officials recommending social distancing policies and governments banning large events and shuttering businesses to stop the spread of Covid-19, some people are still not listening. So, to keep people indoors, Spanish authorities are using drones, mounted with microphones, to scold those who are not self-quarantining.

Geospatial World magazine highlighted that in addition to street surveillance, authorities are also using drones to broadcast messages and information on lockdown measures, especially in rural areas that lack open communication channels for health information. Drones equipped with loudspeakers are used to make public announcements to keep people indoors, take necessary precautions, practice social distancing and wear a mask if stepping outside the home. China and many European countries are using drones to broadcast messages to the public.

Geospatial World shared that a Global Times video on Twitter shows a drone hovering over a village in Inner Mongolia, warning an elderly lady: “Yes grandmother, it’s the drone who is talking to you. You should not go out without wearing a mask. You’d better go home and don’t forget to wash your hands.”

However, the use of drones for surveillance raises a debate about privacy and individual rights.

Brookings highlighted that a court in Paris ruled that city authorities could not use drones to monitor social distancing, and communities in the US have snapped back at their use by local police.

Unicef's recommendation

1.     Appropriate financial and human resources need to be in place in order to have drone technology that is available when needed — either through service contracts or by having the local organizational capacity to run drone operations. It also needs to take international movement, health and supply restrictions into consideration;

2.     Establishing procurement algorithms that are built on selecting the most cost-efficient service that offers quality (service and technology), agility, sustainability, compliance, and other key elements;

3.     Drone program implementation cannot be done without local skills and capacity, therefore, local education and knowledge transfer is the key enabler. This does not only apply to people who can run drone operations, but also to governmental entities and the health sector that are the ultimate end-users of this technology;

4.     Drone utilization is not possible unless there is local regulation enabling safe drone operations;

5.     Local sensitization of communities and stakeholders needs to be done before and during the drone program implementation, in order to inform the public and raise awareness of the technology, ultimately ensuring local social and political acceptance.

6.     Drone integration into the health supply chain has to be shaped and determined by the design of the existing health supply chain system, taking into consideration the problem that drones are solving, the purpose of the use of this technology, as well as clarifying whether drones are a cost-effective alternative to existing transport modalities.

Recommendations for Malaysia

Malaysia should consider investing in and using drones to offer innovative solutions for its medical and social sector.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) could consider deploying drones to transport Covid-19 vaccines as well as other vaccines and medical supplies to areas that are difficult to access.

The food and beverage sector could use drones to deliver food and other essentials, especially to Covid-19 patients who are self-isolating at home, instead of using delivery riders as a means to reduce human interaction.

Respecting privacy, and deploying drones only when necessary, the National Security Council (MKN), in partnership with MoH and other enforcement agencies, could deploy drones in particular in crowded spaces such as stadiums and polling stations, including the upcoming Johor election, to monitor SOP compliance.

Since there has been an increase in infections in the education cluster, with more school children infected, drones could be deployed to selected schools to monitor the children to determine the possible causes of these infections, and for the Ministry of Education to put in place policies and guidelines to protect these children.

Urgent Need to Apply wartime Logic in Malaysia's Response to Covid 19

by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim, 

Malaysia’s projection and actual Covid-19 cases.

In January 2021, MoH DG Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah posted on Twitter two of the ministry’s Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed (SEIR) model projections up to May 31; applying R0 infection rates (R0, pronounced R naught) at 1.1 and 1.2.

For the former, R0 of 1.1, the Ministry projected that Malaysia’s daily cases should only reach 3,000 daily cases by the second week of February, 5,000 by the second week of April, and 8,000 by the fourth week of May, and for the latter; R0 of 1.2, it was projected that Malaysia would only reach 3,000 daily cases by the fourth week of January, 5,000 cases by the third week of February and 8,000 by the third week of March.

However, Malaysia breached the 3,000 mark, recording 3,027 Covid-19 cases on January 7, 2021, 7478 new cases on 26 May 2021, and a record high of 9,020 cases on 29th May 2021 highest daily toll since the start of the pandemic. These have all exceeded the projections of the MoH.

We are at war with a Virus and it's essential for countries to apply Wartime logic to fight the pandemic.

At the opening of the World Health Organisation’s annual assembly of member states on 24th May 2021, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had urged recognition of the fact that “we are at war with a virus” and had called for countries to apply ‘wartime logic’ to fight the (Corona) virus that has killed 3.4 million people.

In response to the rising Covid cases and deaths, on 28th June, the prime minister announced that Government would extend the MCO for a further 2 weeks till mid-July and when Covid cases reduce to 4000 and below, Malaysia will enter into phase 2 of the National Recovery Period.

Alas, the Rakyat saw this as a grim impossibility with the current Covid cases hovering between 5000 plus and 6000 plus and at times reaching near 7000 cases, only with the occasional 4000 plus Covid cases registered recently.

Recommendations for Malaysia

As Malaysia continues to experience the surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths, with the projected 4000 cases near impossible to achieve at this rate and by this current strategy, and in view of the MoH daily update that industry clusters are the major sources and causes of infections it is imperative for the Government, to reflect upon whether the current strategy and response by Malaysia is the RIGHT Prescription for Success.

The prime minister had shared with Malaysians that the Ministry of Health had recommended a total lockdown similar to MCO 1.0 for MCO 3.0. However, news reports highlighted that there were arguments between Ministers and finally a nationwide semi lockdown was imposed, with many non-essential businesses approved to operate. This had horrified the public.

With a respected prime minister and Cabinet ministers, it is vital that Malaysia applies wartime logic to win this war. A military strategist will apply military power including military forces, territory, and resources to fight a major land, sea, and air war and strategize on how to apply force, including which aspect of the military -land, naval, and air forces to mobilize.

As a case in point, in the event of an attack or crisis at sea, the Chief of the Navy and his team would develop strategies for the planning and conduct of war with the aim of achieving victory at sea, under the leadership of the Commander in Chief

It is thus critical for the Government to recognize that Covid-19 pandemic is a public health crisis and accord priority to the Ministry of Health and its team of experts to develop relevant strategies to fight this pandemic and support the MoH’s recommendations for a nationwide full lockdown as per MCO 1.0 for the nation to have a better chance of achieving the target of 4000 Covid cases and less, which will enable the nation and rakyat to proceed to phase 2, 3 and 4 of the NRP successfully.

The danger of maintaining this relatively less restrictive MCO as compared to MCO 1.0 may see the nation in a permanent lockdown which will ultimately further worsen the nation’s health, social, economic, business, and financial crisis.

Additionally, as in war, it is critical that the military resources, supplies, equipment, and weapons must be adequate and in good condition.

Presently it has been reported that our front liners are working long hours and many are facing burnt out, hospital beds are nearly fully occupied and oxygen may be insufficient which paints a grim situation for the nation’s health system which may be overwhelmed any time soon

Furthermore, the stress, despair, and desperation felt by the Rakyat arising from prolonged lockdown and isolation from family and friends are causing stress, and mental illnesses, and resulting in social crises including domestic violence and the tragic cases of suicides reported daily.

Thus it is urgent that a new strategy must be in place including instituting a full and not a partial nation lockdown as it seems to be so currently, and closing non-essential businesses just for a targeted period of time to ensure the Covid cases and deaths can be reduced significantly for the Government to able to end the lockdown soon to facilitate a better quality of life for citizens including frontliners and improved conditions for businesses.

With this new prescription for success, Malaysia will have a better chance to emerge victorious over this catastrophic pandemic.