With the ongoing coronavirus, or COVID-19, affecting more than 116,000 people worldwide, health care technology is being used to identify coronavirus symptoms, find new treatments and monitor the spread of the disease. China has already been leading some of the healthcare technology innovations because of the fast-growing demand of the healthcare sectors.
Disinfecting robots, smart helmets, thermal camera-equipped drones and advanced facial recognition software are all being deployed in the fight against COVID-19 at the heart of the outbreak in China. Facial recognition cameras are commonplace across China, and now companies are upgrading their technology to scan crowds for fever and identify individuals not wearing masks. Beyond robots and drones, China has also mobilized its sophisticated surveillance system to keep a tab on infected individuals and enforce quarantines.
As Chinese citizens slowly return to work despite the virus outbreak, mobile phones have also emerged as a key tool to track the spread of the coronavirus. Alibaba's (NYSE: BABA) new app Alipay Health Code assigns individuals the color green, yellow or red, depending on whether they should be allowed into public spaces or quarantined at home. The app uses big data to identify potential virus carriers, according to its developer Ant Financial. It has already been adopted in more than 200 Chinese cities.
Tencent (OTC: TCEHY), the company behind popular messaging app WeChat and Alibaba's major competitor, has also launched a similar QR-code-based tracking feature.The "close contact detector" app notifies the user if they have been in close contact with a virus carrier.
In the United States, several drug companies have seen less impact from the coronavirus outbreak since their cash flows are largely driven by inelastic demands for important healthcare needs. A few of the most undervalued drug companies in the U.S. include Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN), Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ICPT), and Roche (OTC: RHHBY).
But ahead of them all is Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD), who has developed a drug to treat Ebola called Remdesivir, because they have now seen very preliminary positive data in the treatment of COVID-19.