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The Chinese city that introduced health codes wants to track drinking and smoking
A proposal from the Hangzhou government would have post-pandemic health codes assess lifestyle habits like exercising and medical checkups
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Health codes were introduced in Hangzhou to help combat the spread of Covid-19. But now it looks like the codes might outlive the virus, with city residents being scored and ranked based on their health status, according to a proposal by local government officials.
Since February, people in cities across China have been assigned QR codes on their smartphones that come in either red, yellow or green. Each color is supposed to indicate the likelihood someone had contact with the new coronavirus, with a green code letting someone travel freely and yellow and red codes indicating people must quarantine for up to two weeks. The codes are based on a combination of big data and user-submitted information that includes travel history and whether someone has experienced symptoms.
The Hangzhou government is now looking at taking things further by including things like smoking and drinking habits. In a meeting held by the Hangzhou Municipal Health Commission last Friday, local officials proposed an upgraded health code system that integrates data from medical records, physical examinations and “lifestyle management”.
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