Valenzuela to use QR codes for contact tracing

MANILA, Philippines — Contact tracing will be done using QR codes and not through forms in Valenzuela starting Oct. 5, the city government announced yesterday.

The “no QR code, no entry” policy in public and private establishments in Valenzuela will be implemented next month as the city government rolls out its Valenzuela Tracing (ValTrace) application that will generate QR codes for residents and non-residents.

The QR code system aims to do away with the manual logging in of customers, visitors and employees in contact tracing forms, which could trigger virus transmission.

On Twitter, Mayor Rex Gatchalian lauded creative residents who have printed out their QR codes for easy scanning by authorities once the policy takes place.

Residents need to register at valtrace.appcase.net to generate their own QR Codes and present this upon entering an indoor establishment in the city.

Business establishments need to download the ValTrace QR scanner application so they may scan the QR code of an entering individual.

The personal information of the individual would then be transmitted to the database of the city’s mega contact tracing center.

According to Ordinance No. 783 that created the application, individuals who violate the policy would be fined between P1,000 and P5,000, jailed for at least 30 days or both.

Businesses face a fine of P5,000 to P15,000, suspension or revocation of franchise or business permit or community service, depending on the number of offenses