Placing the health codes on these platforms means easy access for many. (TCEHY) - to host the health code systems on their popular smartphone apps.Īlibaba’s mobile payment app Alipay and Tencent’s messaging app Wechat are both ubiquitous in China, each used by hundreds of millions of people. The Chinese government has enlisted the help of the country’s two internet giants - Alibaba
“To stop the spread of the virus, contact tracing is an essential step and this is why similar initiatives are being adopted in places around the world,” added Xian-Sheng. “Technology now plays a critical rule in containing the pandemic,” Xian-Sheng Hua, a health AI expert at China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, told CNN Business. Moscow has also introduced a QR code system to track movements and enforce its coronavirus lockdown. The Japanese government is considering the adoption of a similar app. Singapore last month launched a contact-tracing smartphone app, which would allow authorities to identify people who have been exposed to Covid-19 patients. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Imagesįollowing China’s lead, other governments have also turned to similar technology to battle the virus. Three months on, with the virus largely contained and lockdown measures gradually lifted across most of China, the small square barcodes have remained in place and are still ruling people’s lives.Ĭhinese office workers show their mobile phones with their health code to a guard, which shows they have permission to travel and are virus free, as they arrive at an office building on April 10. The automatically generated quick response codes, commonly abbreviated to QR codes, are assigned to citizens as an indicator of their health status.Īlthough authorities have yet to make the health codes compulsory, in many cities, citizens without the app wouldn’t be able to leave their residential compounds or enter most public places. Relying on mobile technology and big data, the Chinese government has used a color-based “health code” system to control people’s movements and curb the spread of the coronavirus. This has been the reality for hundreds of millions of people in China since midway through the coronavirus crisis - and it could yet stay that way for the foreseeable future, as the country battles to recover from it. Leaving your home, taking the subway, going to work, entering cafes, restaurants and shopping malls - each move, dictated by the color shown on your screen. Imagine your daily routine being entirely dependent on a smart phone app.
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