For the past few months, the government has been dealing with challenges in implementing an efficient way to do contact tracing for citizens who have been in close contact with a COVID-19 positive. Establishments ask their customers to provide their contact details through forms that are given on entrance doors, which causes heavy crowd getting bottlenecked, forgetting the physical distance rule. Not to mention that high inaccuracy as this is done manual and with no means of verifying if the customer information provided is true and correct.
MYEG Philippines, Inc. (MYEG PH), a market leader in electronic solutions championing government services online automation, has been providing eGovernment services in both Malaysia and the Philippines for the last 18 years through its technology platform encompassing internet, automation, big data, and electronic payments.
Its latest development, MYQR, is a simple, seamless, and free contact tracing solution mobile application designed to monitor and track individuals entering establishment and business premises. The app assists establishment owners to monitor individuals by scanning their visitors’ QR code on their mobile phone prior allowing entry to their businesses.
The Scan & GO! feature of the MYQR will have minimal impact to their operations allowing faster recording and entry to the premises of their customers. What makes MYQR different from the other contact tracing aps is that it doesn’t need Bluetooth nor GPS to function. A user doesn’t also need to have a smartphone as they can print the QR code in a piece of paper, making it user-friendly even for the elderly.
Local government units are now starting to use digital means to do contact tracing. Hernani in Eastern Samar, through the leadership of Mayor Amado L. Candido, is the first local government to implement MYQR in their whole town to enhance and automate their contact tracing activity.
On October 28, 2020, they started requiring everyone in their 13 villages to register and secure their individual QR codes. All persons entering any public and private establishments, churches, and tourist destinations operating within its borders are required to present QR codes.
“We want people to feel safe especially when they need to go outside their houses and enter an establishment. MYQR is the solution. Not only it prevents the transmission of the virus, but it also eliminates the manual filling-up of health declaration/contact tracing forms or logbooks,” Candido said.
“Because of this, we continue to learn and appreciate the help that MYQR has brought us and will continue to bring us in the upcoming days. We look forward to a time where we no longer will be troubled by the threat of contagious diseases such as COVID-19, and we recognize that this is possible through innovative and efficient solutions such as the MYQR,” the Mayor added.
Another LGU that will be implementing MYQR is the Municipality of Rodriguez (formerly Montalban) in Rizal. They officially signed the memorandum of agreement with MYEG Philippines’ Chief Executive Officer, Ann Saldaña to facilitate and activate the implementation of MYQR last December 2 at Montalban City Hall, Rodriguez, Rizal.
They are now in the process of finalizing the registration of all its citizens, ensuring that everyone has their own unique QR codes to be used on entering business premises and establishments.
“We saw the importance of implementing a QR code system on getting the contact details of the citizens prior entering an establishment,” Councilor Carmelo D.M Sta. Isabel said.
“We experienced how time-consuming it was when done manually. But with our honorable Mayor Tom Hernandez and our department heads’ determination to make us a COVID-FREE community, using MYQR is an achievement for all of us, as this is a big step on giving our citizens the protection they need against COVID-19,” he added.
“Since everyone owns a phone and everyone does everything on it from shopping to food deliveries, why not also use it on submitting contact details instead of manually filling-up forms. It’s less tedious and it’s safer for everyone,” Sta. Isabel said.