Coronavirus chatbot educates the citizens of Vinkovci

Many Croatian cities have come up with innovative ways to provide citizens with trustworthy information about the virus and new lockdown restrictions

The official Facebook page of the City of Vinkovci is among the first in Croatia to introduce a chatbot application that interactively informs the public about the current work of the Civil Protection Staff. The chatbot was created pro bono by the Slavonian company Hero Factory, which recently created a similar program for the Croatian Institute of Public Health. The chatbot is named after what we all need at this time - Hope.

How does Hope help?

When a query is sent by the user, the chatbot responds automatically at any time, without the need for additional support of experts - as it has already been taught how to respond. The questions are answered immediately, and answers are available to all current questions related to coronavirus, the Civil Protection Staff, and e-passes.

Hope can educate citizens about symptoms, emergency numbers and passes needed for travel

Hope can also check for symptoms of the virus. All we have to do is select one of the answers provided. The chatbot also reminds us that symptoms appear between 2 and 14 days after infection. In the event that none of the symptoms develop, Hope recommends we don’t contact a physician in order to ease the load on medical staff.

Hope can check for any symptoms of the virus

Andrija, the digital assistant

Local authorities in Croatia recommend their citizens to meet Andrija as well. He is the first artificial intelligence-based digital assistant to help fight coronavirus with its superhuman powers. You can communicate with him on WhatsApp by sending the keyword "Hello" to +385 99 775 3049.

When interacting with citizens, he educates people how to recognize the symptoms of the virus through assisted self-assessment. In addition, Andrija assists people in contacting relevant institutions, sending everyone to the right address and thus saving time and energy for citizens and doctors.

Andrija is named after the father of prevention, Dr. Andrija Štampar. Source: Government of the Republic of Croatia

In addition to the Ministry of Administration, which is the project manager, several Croatian IT companies are also involved in the development of Andrija. All of them have decided to contribute pro bono to the national effort to combat the pandemic.

Local authorities are looking for new channels of communication

During the pandemic, many Croatian cities have come up with alternative ways to inform citizens.

Dubrovnik

The City of Dubrovnik has introduced a new channel of communication - an official Viber group. It circulates all the latest news and citizens are provided with verified information. The group informs people about new measures to combat the virus and specific measures taken by the City of Dubrovnik.

Slavonski Brod

With the aim of two-way communication, the City of Slavonski Brod has also launched a community on Viber - "City of Slavonski Brod COVID-19". In the group, citizens can request information about important coronavirus-related queries and are answered within a reasonable time.

The mayor of Labin Valter Glavičić invited fellow citizens to join the local Viber group

Labin

The City of Labin is also making efforts to provide timely and accurate information to its citizens. Local authorities have launched their own Viber group as well, called “City of Labin - info COVID 19”. Mayor Valter Glavičić invited fellow citizens to join the community sending the message that together we are stronger.