Mexico City Deploys China-inspired QR Codes to Track Chains of COVID-19 Infection

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Inspired by China’s successful practice of fighting the pandemic, Mexico’s capital is relying on QR codes and smartphones to identify close contacts of COVID-19 patients and break the chains of infection, according to local authorities.

Since November 18th, QR codes have been posted at establishments with frequent foot traffic in Mexico City, including banks, restaurants and shops, forming a rapid-response network to notify those potentially exposed to the coronavirus.

Given the program’s early-stage success, authorities have decided to expand the scheme to pharmacies, supermarkets and self-service stores, as well as some public transit services, just as many Chinese cities have done.

Each business applies for a QR code and places it at the entrance so customers can scan the code with their smartphones and immediately be registered into the system. All customers also get their body temperatures checked before their entry.

Once the system detects that a client has tested positive for COVID-19, it will automatically notify all other users who might have contacts with the patient at some establishment via short text messages, and recommends testing to rule out infection.

While scanning the QR code is not mandatory, most people seem willing to participate in the program to curb transmission, according to authorities and business owners.

The program was designed based on the Chinese model, “but adapted to what is possible in Mexico in technical, operational and regulatory terms,” Eduardo Clark Garcia, director at the Digital Agency for Public Innovation of Mexico City, told Xinhua. The goal is “to minimize the risks of the disease spreading massively,” Garcia said.

Since February 28th, when Mexico’s first COVID-19 case was detected, “in recent weeks there has been a constant uptick in hospitalizations,” said Garcia. “That’s why … we decided to look for other international practices and evaluate many QR systems.”

Mexico’s capital, home to some 9 million residents and the epicenter of the country’s pandemic, has registered 233,577 COVID-19 cases with 18,268 deaths as of Monday. Meanwhile, more than 1,182,249 cases have been reported nationwide with 110,074 deaths.