How could china quickly control the pandemic in such a practical way? What are the secrets? One secrete is using digital tools for contact tracing.
Contact tracing is a critical step in controlling COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus is highly contagious, spreading so fast, it is so overwhelming and impossible to do contact tracing in traditional ways. China has extensively applied digital technology in contact tracing that includes identifying and following-up with patients, identifying, notifying, and following up with the contact.
The digital tools were applied to help contact tracing for accuracy and efficiency. For example, apps were used for electronic surveillance, and people were informed if they took the same train or plane with suspected or confirmed cases, the doctor was informed if their patients had high risk.
The most crucial contact tracing digital tool is the Health Code.
- Health Code is a unique personal code, generated and saved on a personal phone, shows the pandemic risk.
- Health Code shows three different colours indicating health status and pandemic risk level: green colour means low risk; yellow colour means medium risk, and red colour means high risk.
- Health Code colour is generated based on big data collected from different sources, mobile service vendors, social media, online payment platforms, all information about where the individuals have been to
- It is straightforward to apply.
- Health Code status is real-time and dynamic.
- The 1st version of the Health Code was generated on Feb 5th, 2020, over one billion health codes are generated.
- During the pandemic period, every person must show their health code when entering into a public place, such as residential complex (coming back home), shopping malls, train station, airports, office etc.
- Health code was not the only measure; temperature check was used together to trace suspected cases.
- There are limitations, for people who did not have a phone or did not bring their phone, who did not remember their ID number, whose phones did not support 4G or scanning barcode), the manual process was used for tracing.
We have noticed that the Health Code is beyond contact tracing; it is population tracing. It identifies an individual’s footprints, footprint crosses. It makes contact tracing accurate, compressive, more efficient and more effective.
How could China so quickly build and implement such big health code systems nationwide almost within 1 month, the reasons behind include:
- Mobile phone and internet is popular (i.e. 900 million people have internet access, internet access is over 64.5%)
- Big Data ecosystems are ready
- Unique ID for every citizen every individual is available
- The most important is that people’s acceptance of link ID to register for a phone number, social media access and payment platforms.
To summarize China’s experiences of fighting against the coronavirus:
- Digital Technology has been applied in identifying individual, tracing individual’s locations, and subsequently empowered contact tracing. It is proved, efficient, and useful.
- Privacy is considered necessary, but public health is equally or maybe even more important as China has gone through SARS. People are more willing to be disciplined for their safety and society’s protection.
- Over one billion people have been traced during the pandemic period.
- Tests are encouraged and available in the major cities.
China’s experiences are of help to the world, the COVID-19 pandemic will be settled down soon worldwide, and we look forward to going back to everyday life.