Tech Roundup, Apr. 17 | Startups to help Covid-19 fight

You’re reading The Brazilian Report‘s weekly tech roundup, a digest of the most important news on technology and innovation in Brazil. This week’s topics: how startups can help the government fight the coronavirus. The digitization of police reports in times of social distancing. And more.

Rio Grande do Sul seeks help from startups against Covid-19

As Brazil looks for ways to pivot its traditional industry to encourage efforts to fight Covid-19, the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul took a new approach to the issue by mobilizing startup companies based within its boundaries. The state used its innovation panel as a base to launch a new tracker for startups, universities, and innovation environments that are working on all kinds of solutions related to Covid-19. The platform allows users to see what the companies are producing, where they are located, and what kind of resources they need. 

What are startups doing? According to the panel, startups are innovating in areas such as data science, hospital management, and medical software. 

• One example is Mais Vida, a system currently being used in the countryside town of Farroupilha. It gathers all health data available on the municipal government’s system and compiles it on a single platform, alongside features such as telemedicine and the ability to transcribe medical records using voice inputs, saving time for health professionals.

How are startups helping? Mais Vida improves the monitoring of patients, while also informing doctors and the Farroupilha city council on the concentration of Covid-19 cases around the municipality.

• The company also came up with solutions to diminish privacy concerns,...