The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has become a global calamity, leaving thousands dead, millions vulnerable, supply lines collapsed, economies derailed, factories shunted and cities under lockdown. It is an unanticipated disaster of epic proportions that has exposed human fragility in an interconnected world. China, from where the novel virus originated, has been the worst hit. By mustering resources at its disposal and deploying the latest technology, the country has mitigated the spread to a significant extent and profiled people at risk. During the time of the SARS ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2002, it took scientists more than a year to decode the genome of the virus, whereas thanks to tech advancements, the Covind-19 or the coronavirus genome was identified in a month’s time. These are the various ways through which China is waging war against this deadly strain.
Utilizing its sophisticated and expansive surveillance network for the public good, Chinese government joined hands with tech giants Alibaba and Tencent to develop a color-coded health rating system that is tracking millions of people daily. The smartphone app was first deployed in Hangzhou with collaboration from Alibaba. It assigns three colors to people — green, yellow or red — on the basis of their travel and medical histories. In the industrial hub Shenzhen, similar software was created by Tencent.
Whether a person should be quarantined or allowed in public spaces is decided based on the color code. Citizens have to mandatorily log in to the app using pay wallet services like Alibaba’s Alipay, Ant’s wallet etc. Only those people who have been given a green color code are allowed in public spheres after using the designated QR code at metro stations, offices, stations. There are checkpoints at most public places where the code and person’s body temperature is checked. More than 200 Chinese cities are using this system, and soon it will be extended nationwide.