The application of digital technology as a means of combating the pandemic

Results of the study. Technological innovations have played a key role in preventing several health and socio-economic consequences. For example, countries like the USA, China, Republic of Korea, and many others are using digital technology to monitor the virus outbreak and to enforce containment or lockdown actions. In an instant, governments all around the world, scientists, businesses, and the population in general have become relying on video conferencing technologies such as Zoom and Skype to keep in touch in the face of lockdown. Moreover, the smart technology introduction, such as drones and robots, has enabled various countries to transport vital medical supplies and vaccines even to remote locations, safeguarding medi- cal personal and minimizing face-to-face contact. Their function also includes identifying people who might have virus signs.

My study revealed that the sudden virus outbreak is also encouraging strong demand for intelligent robotic systems in healthcare industry. These intelligent systems can positively affect the telemedicine development, both for patients with COVID-19 and those without COVID-19. The telecare systems application provides the physical distance between doctors and patients that is so crucial in the era of COVID-19. Teleoperation assumes operation at a distance, which ideally suits the requirements of fully remote or partially remote medical services at the COVID-19 time. Meanwhile, a healthcare telerobotic system has the capacity to enhance human abilities but engineering a telecontrol system demands solving the issues of communication with sensors, time lag, stability, and transparency. The research is focused on teleoperation, which is driven by a stable environment at the guided venue and aimed at perfect transparency, consistency and addressing the abovementioned problems. Furthermore, these technologies will also cut down on travel costs, since the best doctors can be available online from anywhere around the globe.

Another key method in fighting the pandemic is using drones with 5G connectivity, which can aid in data capture and compilation through high-speed transmission and low latency. The COVID-19 outbreak served as a catalyst for 5G technology, most notably in healthcare automation. Medical robots with 5G functionality can deliver medicines, take patients' temperatures as well as sanitize hospital wards, decreasing the risk of catching the virus. These robots can make up for the lack of personal protective equipment for both doctors and nurses.

The support of 5G networks allows mass connectivity from all devices, including smartphones, watches, and sensors, thereby improving the capture of patients' electronic records, which can be maintained in the cloud. By reacting rapidly, it is possible to avert outbreaks and the virus spread both within a country and between countries. Additionally, preventive measures, such as movement restrictions, quarantine, and treatment procedures, can be taken.

What is most remarkable is that 5G networks, compared to other existing networks, can address most COVID-19 issues through its enhanced capacity and leading technology. 5G networks can be utilized to forecast upcoming diseases while developing a pandemic-adapted society by mass-scale digitalization and automatization.

As mentioned above, there is no sphere of social life that has not been affected by the virus, and education is no exception. To ensure social distance, education is provided online. Nevertheless, digital technology has made distance learning much easier. Speed of connection is the foundation of effective elearning, here 5G can play a meaningful role by providing seamless augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) with which students can access virtual classrooms. As edu- cation is becoming more virtualized, meetings and conferences worldwide are going online as well. Thus, the combination of 5G and AR/VR has the power to promote further advancements in virtual education.

According to my research, automated construction sites where robots are used have also made their contribution to the virus prevention. As the current situation has stressed the necessity of quickly structures construction to cure patients and support vaccine production, fast transport of building materials is essential. In the perspective, this could be realized by automated construction sites using robots. For this purpose, a system that was designed with modern production processes was developed. The system has demonstrated potential for further development with the improvement at a modern level possibility.

Conclusion. In fighting the pandemic, the impact of digital technology cannot be ignored. Technologies have been vital in minimizing the negative effects of COVID-19, without them the pandemic would have had a larger footprint and could have halted sectors such as healthcare, education, transport, manufacturing, etc.

My analysis suggests that advanced technology is helping the global economy survive by helping industries, supply chains and ecommerce through automatization. Besides, digitalization is experiencing amazing growth, which will lead to automatization in several sectors, including medical science, industry, consumer electronics and transport. Fast-growing technology will help humanity to be better prepared for natural disasters and pandemics in years to come and promises to result in technological transformation or to overcome the digital divide. Furthermore, the digitalization extension during the pandemic will also be beneficial in the post-pandemic era.