Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 28) — The government will require all inbound passengers to download a contact tracing app before entry to any airport beginning Nov. 28, according to a transportation advisory released Wednesday.
The Department of Transportation said passengers must register an account in the ‘Traze’ app, which was developed to boost contact tracing efforts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
People without mobile gadgets may either ask a family member to create an account for them or proceed to the Malasakit Helpdesk at the airport where they will be assisted in getting a QR code, the DOTr said.
The department said ‘Traze’ doesn’t use bluetooth or GPS and “works well even with slow mobile data and WiFi.” It added that user data is secured as the app, which was co-developed by the Philippine Ports Authority and Cosmotech Philippines Inc., “fully complies” with the Data Privacy Act.
The DOTr simultaneously soft-launched ‘Traze’ at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Clark International Airport, Mactan-Cebu International Airport, and Davao International Airport on Wednesday.
“This is truly a breakthrough for the aviation sector, which had been grappling with the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.
“What we are introducing here is the face of the new normal, the new way of fast-tracking airport procedures, and a new initiative that signifies the readiness of the sector to once again take off,” he added.
As of Oct. 28, the Department of Health tallied 375,180 COVID-19 cases in the country, which include 329,111 recoveries and 7,114 deaths.
