AI, data science and tech against pandemics: Precedence and possibilities

Diseases know no borders and the threat of an epidemic is ever increasing with the number of all kinds of outbreaks tripling over the last forty years. While addressing a pandemic, experts usually want to know the following things about the disease: i) How quickly is it spreading? Since the first report of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, it has spread to at least 100 other countries. Companies like Alibaba, Baidu, and Huawei accelerated their healthcare initiatives. Tech start-ups are getting more involved integrally with clinicians, academics and government entities around the world to activate technology against the fast-spreading pandemic.