A woman born in Hangzhou, returning home from New York through Shanghai, carries with her one of the quiet instruments of this moment: a colour-coded health code that sorts travellers as orange, yellow or green. Zhejiang province, which first used such codes in early February to slow the coronavirus at home, has now extended them to overseas Chinese, foreign students and foreign residents, because the infections arriving from abroad have become the hardest to hold back. Fifteen had been recorded by Monday, and the province is betting that a system of advance information can do what closed bord
China's Health QR Code Expands to Foreigners and Returnees in Zhejiang to Curb Imported COVID-19 Cases
15 imported coronavirus infections had been recorded in Zhejiang by Monday, and returnees faced quarantine and self-isolation.
31,000 international health codes had been granted by noon Monday
Mark
Why does an international version of the code matter now, when the system has existed since February?
Mimi
Because the problem changed. Officials say imported infections are now the top priority in Zhejiang, and 15 had been recorded by Monday. The code had to reach people arriving from abroad.
Luke
Fifteen is the Health Commission's figure as of Monday. The report doesn't say how many people arrived in that period, so we can't judge how large or small that number is.
Mark
What does Bao Han's experience show?
Mimi
Several steps in sequence: her mother reported her to the community, she applied online, she filled out a form on the plane, and she reported to airport staff. Then about six hours of inspection in Shanghai, a yellow code, and at least 14 days of home isolation in Hangzhou.
Luke
It's one traveler's account. And she said she wasn't asked to show her code on the trip back to Hangzhou, so how the code is checked in practice isn't clear from this.
Mark
And the 31,000 codes?
Mimi
That's how many had been granted by noon Monday across the province, which suggests quick uptake.
Luke
Granted, not necessarily used or checked. Nothing here says how many were orange, yellow or green either.
Mark
What about the ships?
Mimi
Ningbo sorts crews before arrival using routes and ports of call. A stop in a hard-hit country means red and stricter quarantine. A pilot station worker says advance information eases the burden.
Luke
That praise comes from one staff member, and the report doesn't explain what orange or yellow mean for the international codes, or what the criteria are.
Le Pouls
- Fifteen imported coronavirus infections had been recorded in Zhejiang by Monday, and officials now call them the top prevention priority.
- Returnees arriving from abroad face a sorting system of orange, yellow or green codes that decides how strictly they are watched.
- A yellow-coded traveller spent about six hours in airport inspection before being driven to Hangzhou for at least 14 days of home isolation.
- Ships bound for Ningbo are pre-sorted by route, and any vessel that called at a hard-hit country is marked red for stricter inspection.
- Thirty-one thousand international codes had been issued by noon Monday, and the open question is whether other provinces and ports will follow.
A woman born in Hangzhou, returning home from New York through Shanghai, carries with her one of the quiet instruments of this moment: a colour-coded health code that sorts travellers as orange, yellow or green. Zhejiang province, which first used such codes in early February to slow the coronavirus at home, has now extended them to overseas Chinese, foreign students and foreign residents, because the infections arriving from abroad have become the hardest to hold back. Fifteen had been recorded by Monday, and the province is betting that a system of advance information can do what closed borders once did, with less disruption to ordinary lives. Whether that bet spreads beyond this coastal province remains an open question.
Bao Han flew out of New York on Sunday and landed at Shanghai Pudong on Monday night. She is a Hangzhou native studying at Parsons School of Design, and most of her paperwork was finished before she left. Her mother had already told the local community she was coming home, and Bao applied for her health code online, then reported her condition and travel history on the plane and again at the airport.
Her journey shows how Zhejiang now handles arrivals from abroad. The health QR code began in Hangzhou in early February to slow the coronavirus, and it now has an international edition for overseas Chinese returning home, foreign students and foreigners living in the province. By Monday the province had recorded 15 imported infections, and by noon 31,000 international codes had been issued. The system sorts applicants into orange, yellow or green based on their health and travel information.
Bao was classed yellow. Inspection and quarantine at Shanghai took about six hours, after which the local disease control center took her to Hangzhou, where she must isolate at home for at least 14 days. She was not asked to show her code during that trip. Interest is spreading too: people abroad planning to return to Zhejiang have been asking online where to apply.
The system reaches the sea as well. In Ningbo, ship crews are screened through a similar online platform that sorts each vessel by its route and ports of call before arrival. A ship that has stopped in a heavily affected country is marked red and faces tougher inspection. Staff at the Ningbo Pilot Station say the advance information eases the burden on crews and port workers. Whether these international codes and ship checks will be adopted in other provinces and ports is still unknown.
Bao Han boarded a direct flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Sunday and landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Monday night. A Hangzhou native who studies at the Parsons School of Design, she had already done part of the paperwork before leaving. Her mother had reported her return to the local community several days earlier, and Bao applied for her health code online. On the plane she filled out a form, and at the airport she reported her health condition and travel history to staff.
Her trip shows how Zhejiang province is now handling arrivals from abroad. The health QR code system began in Hangzhou in early February to curb the spread of the coronavirus. It now has an international edition aimed at overseas Chinese returning to Zhejiang, foreign students, and foreigners living in the province, with the goal of tightening control over imported cases.
The Health Commission of Zhejiang reported that by Monday the province had recorded 15 imported infections. By noon that day, 31,000 international health QR codes had been issued across the province. Applicants supply health and travel information, and the system sorts them into orange, yellow or green codes accordingly, according to Chen Guangsheng, executive deputy director of the province's leading group for prevention and control of the novel coronavirus.
Chen said fighting imported infections has become the top priority for prevention and control in Zhejiang. He called the health code system an effective and precise tool for keeping the virus from spreading, and said the international edition answers the rising number of imported infections.
Bao was classed yellow when she was quarantined in Shanghai. That meant she had to self-isolate at home in Hangzhou for at least 14 days. She said inspection and quarantine at the Shanghai airport took about six hours, after which the local center for disease control and prevention transported her to Hangzhou. She said she was not asked to show her health code during that journey.
Demand has also appeared online. Some people in other countries and regions who plan to come back to Zhejiang asked on Weibo where they could apply for the codes.
The approach extends to the sea. Ningbo, a port city in Zhejiang, uses a similar code system to assess and track the health of ship crews arriving at its ports. An online platform automatically categorizes each vessel before the crew arrives, based on the ship's routes and ports of call. A ship that has stopped at a port in a country hit hard by the virus is marked red and faces stricter inspection and quarantine, according to the Ningbo Maritime Safety Administration.
Du Weijie, a staff member at the Ningbo Pilot Station, said the ship health codes greatly reduce the burden on crews and port staff, because the information arrives in advance and leaves time to prepare. What remains to be seen is whether the international codes and the ship screening are adopted beyond Zhejiang, in other provinces or ports.
Citations marquantes
The health code system is an effective and precise tool to help control the virus from spreading.— Chen Guangsheng, executive deputy director of Zhejiang's novel coronavirus leading group
She was categorized yellow in Shanghai and told to self-isolate at home in Hangzhou for at least 14 days.— Bao Han, returning student
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur Asia News Network ↗