COVID19: A new battleground for Digital Signage

As our world is moving into unprecedented territory with the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and we are all trying to find ways of coping with the evolving pandemic, the Digital signage industry has unique roles to play.

Digital Signage provides a unique ability to mass communicate with masses while keeping the Physical Distancing in place.

Here are some of the most useful ways Digital Signage can help in the fight with COVID19.

Awareness and Education:

What the world needs the most these days is awareness about the epidemic and education on how to prevent it’s spread and what precautions should be taken.

  1. Yes, there are conventional ways of doing that, but all those ways pose some level of risk of physical exposure for the people involved on both sides. However, with Digital Signage, information can be dispersed readily without having to encounter anyone thus eliminating the risk factor at all.
  2. Moreover, Digital Signage provides the ability to update the information as it comes with minimal cost.
  3. Social services can use these screens to broadcast messages of public interest regarding any new prevention method, discarding any myth about the disease, or just reassure the public that they are not left alone in this time of need.
  4. These screens can also be used to tell people when they need to see a doctor, what symptoms warrant a hospital visit, and what symptoms are not of covid19.
A digital screen placed on a sidewalk in New York City is being used to deliver a public announcement regarding covid19 lockdown restrictions.

Hospitals and clinics:

Healthcare institutions are at the highest risk of outbreaks for covid19. They can apply Digital Signage to curb the risk.

  1. A screen in the lobby can be used to play prevention and precaution messages. It can run messages regarding the symptoms and remind people in the hospital to practice handwashing regularly.
  2. Digital signage at other places in the hospital can be used to readily designate any section as a quarantine zone and inform the staff about it at once.
  3. Screens placed on every floor can be used to remind everyone on those floors to wash their hands regularly and use hand sanitizers.
  4. Digital Screens in the doctors’ lobby can be used to call any doctor in any section of the hospital at once.

Workplaces:

Even though most of the world is now in lockdown, there are still essential services that are operational such as fire and rescue services, postal services, public administration offices, courts, and legal services, etc. All of these are at high risk of an outbreak. This is where Digital Signage can play an active role in the prevention of an outbreak.

  1. First, use digital signage screens to keep reminding everyone in the workplace to wash their hands regularly and thoroughly. Keep reminding people to try and practice physical distancing and not gather in any place.
  2. Secondly, Office announcements can be totally converted into digital announcements instead of gathering everyone in front of the boss’s cabin.

Use digital signage screens to remind people to sanitize their digital devices as well.

  • Fire and rescue workers should be reminded of getting disinfected every time they return from the field. A single-screen can be used to perform this task. Put the screen in the truck bay and let the precaution reminder run on repeat all day long. Remind them to clean the trucks as well.
  • In Public Administration office digital signage should be used to keep reminding people to practice physical distancing since it usually gets crowded in those offices. Keep reminding people to take precautions and if there are too many people, use the digital screens to announce temporary restrictions for entry in the building. This way the staff will be informed at once along with the people inside and outside and the ban can be administered in an orderly manner.

Supermarkets:

Not all markets are locked down. Superstores are open in many areas to allow people to buy essential items. This is a hard time for these superstores since they must let customers in but also must make sure that there is no crowding inside the store and that people are not gathering in any section. This can be made easy using Digital Signage.

  1. Stores can use these screens to display the number of customers currently inside the store and how many more the store will allow before the entry ban sets in. The information can be easily updated from the manager’s office through his computer.
  2. Screens placed all over the store can be used to keep reminding people to practice physical distancing and not touch anything needlessly.
  3. These screens can also be used to inform people of the remaining supplies in any section and point them towards the most essential items. (remind them that there are things more important than toilet papers, such as frozen food perhaps)

Conclusion

In the present world of technology, we cannot limit ourselves to olden ways of doing things especially when the crisis at hand has outwritten most of those ways due to the Physical Distancing doctrine we are facing. Digital Signage comes as an immensely powerful tool as it allows us to carry out all those tasks without putting human lives at risk. The right information provided to the people who need it at the right time is the key to defeat this pandemic and digital signage gives us the means to do just that.

Let us take maximum advantage of the technology we have and get to the other side as quickly as possible. May the force of technology be with us.