International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research Volume 9–Issue 04, 150-154, 2020, ISSN:-2319–8656 www.ijcat.com 150 War against Coronavirus (COVID – 19) in Tanzania: Designing a Low Cost Automatic Water Tap Herbert Wanga Department of Information Technology University of Iringa (UoI) Iringa, Tanzania Thobius Joseph Department of Information Technology University of Iringa (UoI) Iringa, Tanzania Mauna Belius Chuma Department of Information Technology University of Iringa (UoI) Iringa, Tanzania Abstract: In December 2019, an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) infection occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China and spread across China and beyond. On February 12, 2020, WHO officially named the disease caused by the novel coronavirus as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). On January 30, 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 as the sixth public health emergency of international concern. One of the major preventions is frequent hand washing. An attempt has been made to design a low-cost automatic water tap as a measure to fight the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19). The designed system uses simple, easy to get and low cost instruments. The system does not require a user to touch the water tap. It uses microcontroller to implement intelligence. The solar panel is used as a source of power. The system design uses green solution based automatic water tap. The system will be used in gatherings to avoid Coronavirus spreading. Such gathering places include hospitals, markets, bus stops, public transports, churches, mosques, and restaurants. Keywords: coronavirus; covid-19; automatic water tap; Wuhan pneumonia; Arduino 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-COV2 and represents the causative agent of a potentially fatal disease that is of great global public health concern [1]. Since December 2019, an outbreak of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, and rapidly spread to almost all parts of China [2]. An outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID‐19 or 2019‐CoV) infection has posed significant threats to international health and the economy [3]. The outbreak of COVID-19 raised intense attention not only within China but internationally [2]. On January 30, 2020, WHO has declared COVID-19 as the sixth public health emergency of international concern [4]. As of February 9, 2020, data from the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that more than 37,000 confirmed cases have been identified in 28 countries, with more than 99% of the cases being detected in China [4]. As of 3 March 2020, a total of 80,151 cases have been detected and confirmed in Mainland China. Internationally, there are more than 10,566 additional cases detected and confirmed in 72 countries [5]. On 23rd March 2010, WHO rolling update showed Coronavirus disease (COVID – 19) outbreak situation of 294, 110 confirmed cases, 12, 944 confirmed deaths, and 187 countries, areas or territories with cases. The most common symptoms at onset of COVID-19 illness are fever, cough, and fatigue, while other symptoms include sputum production, headache, haemoptysis, diarrhea, dyspnea, and lymphopenia [1]. Clinical features of COVID-19 include dry cough, fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and myalgia [6]. It is spread by human-to-human transmission via droplets or direct contact, and infection has been estimated to have mean incubation period of 6.4 days and a basic reproduction number of 2.24 - 3.58 [4]. Person-to-person transmission occurs primarily via direct contact or through droplets spread by coughing or sneezing from an infected individual [1] 1.2 Health Risk in Tanzania According to [7] Tanzania is sparsely populated with population density of 51 persons per square kilometer with variation across regions. Persons are concentrated in Dar es Salaam and Mjini Magharibi regions with population densities of 3,133 and 2,581 persons per square kilometer respectively. This population density increases health risk. To fight Covid-19, Tanzania has banned all academic and unnecessary social gatherings. Academic gatherings closed include kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, middle level colleges and Universities. Socially, Tanzania has banned unnecessary gatherings such as sports, fiesta, music performances, theatres, until further notice. Due to low or unavailability of automatic water taps, these gatherings depend on low cost mechanical water taps. One of the problems of using mechanical water taps for hand washing is in its method of operation. Mechanical water taps need user to open handle and wash hands, then close the handle again, causing contamination. 1.3 Problem statement It is perhaps clear that quarantine alone may not be sufficient to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and the global impact of this viral infection is one of heightening concern [6]. According to [6], Basic hand hygiene measures are recommended, including frequent hand washing and the use of PPE such as face masks. Water is an indispensable input for industrial production and human existence. Currently, people are increasingly concerned about their health, and their interest in the safety of water [8]. According to [9] Clean water is a critical resource, important for the health and well-being of all humans.