Belmonte mandates use of ‘KyusiPass’

MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government yesterday ordered business establishments to use the city’s digital contact tracing app amid the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila.

Mayor Joy Belmonte ordered the mandatory use of “KyusiPass,” among other directives under the city’s revised general community quarantine guidelines.

“All businesses in Quezon City must use the KyusiPass app to make contact tracing easier and faster for early detection of the virus,” Belmonte said in a statement.

“We are alarmed by the rising cases of COVID-19 and we will not allow this surge to continue. We do not want to experience the ordeal of having all our hospitals overwhelmed by patients so we will employ all means to stop it,” she added.

Residents and business establishments were required to get their own QR codes.

Businesses relying on manual contact tracing methods should ask customers to bring their own pens.

“Digital copies of these logs should be readily available to the city epidemiology and disease surveillance unit at any given time should contact tracing be necessary,” city hall said.

Cinemas, amusement arcades, theme parks and carnivals will remain closed.

Persons aged 15 to 65 are allowed outdoors. Those outside the age group have to follow stay-at-home orders except for emergencies.

Mass gatherings are still prohibited except for essential work, government, humanitarian or religious services subject to minimum health protocols.

Libraries, museums, cultural centers, internet cafes and computer shops at least 30 meters in size are allowed to operate.

Public utility vehicles must implement one seat apart setup.

Also prohibited under the revised guidelines are wakes at home and drinking in public places.

Open-air parks may operate for non-contact activities such as jogging, badminton and others, but health and safety protocols must be observed.

As of Saturday, there were 33,677 cases of COVID-19 in Quezon City. Of the number, 31,102 have recovered from the disease while 853 died.