Digital Response During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: The first case of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia was confirmed on March 3, 2020. Saudi Arabia, like many other countries worldwide, implemented lockdown of most public and private services in response to the pandemic and established population movement restrictions nationwide. With the implementation of these strict mitigation regulations, technology and digital solutions have enabled the provision of essential services.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to highlight how Saudi Arabia has used digital technology during the COVID-19 pandemic in the domains of public health, health care services, education, telecommunication, commerce, and risk communication.

Methods: We documented the use of digital technology in Saudi Arabia during the pandemic using publicly available official announcements, press briefings and releases, news clips, published data, peer-reviewed literature, and professional discussions.

Results: Saudi Arabia's government and private sectors combined developed and launched approximately 19 apps and platforms that serve public health functions and provide health care services. A detailed account of each is provided. Education processes continued using an established electronic learning infrastructure with a promising direction toward wider adoption in the future. Telecommunication companies exhibited smooth collaboration as well as innovative initiatives to support ongoing efforts. Risk communication activities using social media, websites, and SMS text messaging followed best practice guides.

Conclusions: The Saudi Vision 2030 framework, released in 2017, has paved the path for digital transformation. COVID-19 enabled the promotion and testing of this transition. In Saudi Arabia, the use of artificial intelligence in integrating different data sources during future outbreaks could be further explored. Also, decreasing the number of mobile apps and merging their functions could increase and facilitate their use.

Keywords: COVID-19; Saudi Arabia; containment; digital health; digital response; pandemic; prevention; public health.

Figure 1

Examples of digital apps available for various health care domains during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

Figure 2

Instagram advertisement for the new symptom checker feature on the Saudi Ministry of Heath’s scheduling mobile app.

Figure 3

Snapshot of the G20 Extraordinary Virtual Leaders’ Summit on COVID-19, hosted by the Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, on March 26, 2020.

Figure 4

Twitter reply by the Saudi Ministry of Health spokesperson to a tweet by a person who was concerned about a colleague who showed symptoms of respiratory illness after returning from Iran [62].

Figure 5

The Arabic language Corona Map provided by the National Health Information Center, under the Saudi Health Council.