ILOILO City – The city government has deferred anew its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contact tracing scheme using quick response (QR) codes.
To give city residents and outsiders ample time to register, the new contact tracing system will go full swing by March 31, 2021, according to Councilor Lady Julie Grace Baronda, author of the newly-passed QR Code ordinance and chair of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s committee on information technology and computerization.
The deferment will likewise give the city government’s Information Systems Office time to put in place the security feature of the system.
The SP passed the QR Code Ordinance last month.
Under this new measure, businesses and individuals, prior to registering in the system, need to give consent to the city government to use their data in the formulation of the health protocols for contingency and strategic planning for the city’s disaster risk reduction plans.
With this ordinance, Baronda said, the public is assured that their data will not be used other than for the purposes stated in the ordinance.
“We made sure it is provided in the ordinance. Nagbutang kita to sang mga security measures nga dapat indi magamit ang ini nga mga data as well as kon sin-o ang ginbutang kag gintugyan naton nga mag-secure sang sini nga mga data,” Baronda said.
The ordinance also provided penalties for those who will use the data for unauthorized purposes.
The data being asked from individuals prior their registration are name, address, date of birth, gender and contact number while for business establishments are the name of the establishment, contact person and business number.
Those with primary access to the data are the City Health Office and the Info System Office particularly their QR management team.
Those with secondary access are national government agencies that do researches relative to health standards.
Baronda clarified that these agencies will not be given access without the data-sharing agreement with the city.
As emphasized by Baronda, the QR Code System is not only for contract tracing purposes but also for contingency planning for future references.
Baronda also cited that through the QR Code system, the city can determine which particular areas in the metro doo most of the people go or which areas have low density in a particular time. The age group and gender of the people can also be determined.
“Kon we have that data maka-obra kita sang nami nga strategies to address specific health issues,” Baronda added.
Due to the overwhelming number of people who want to register for QR Code in the previous months, the city government will launch different validation sites, especially for those who have no internet access.
These include barangays, malls and terminal sites for those from outside the city./PN
