Shanghai introduces QR codes on subway to track potential contact with coronavirus

Shanghai is now asking subway passengers to scan a QR codes on train windows to record people’s phone numbers and and identify the train compartment they’re riding in. It “provides strong data support for tracing people in close contact with suspected patients,” Shanghai Metro posted on Weibo.

The Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission said that the QR codes will be used in all of the city’s 6,000 subway train compartments. When the new system rolled out on Friday, some Weibo users said that few people scanned the QR codes. Others also complained that the location of the QR codes on a window in the middle of the compartment is inconvenient for most passengers.

China has been utilizing big data to keep tabs on people’s whereabouts in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic. Programs developed by the government and tech companies are collecting and using location data tied to real names to help alert people if they have been in close contact with confirmed or potential coronavirus cases.