City Administrator Em Ang said 276,740 residents and 5,781 business establishments have registered for the BaCTrac Contact Tracing System (BaCTrac) here.
Ang, who is also the Executive Director of the Emergency Operations Center, said that as part of the city government’s efforts to continue enhancing its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it adopted a customized online application for contact tracing.
Ang said that the “BaCTrac Contact Tracing System” is a web-based and mobile-based app developed for the efficient and expeditious contact tracing of confirmed COVID-19 positive patients in the city.
Through the scheme adopted by the city from South Cotabato, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Task Force can easily locate people suspected of having contact with COVID-19 patients.
She said there is no need for a very high-tech mobile phone for the app, especially for scanning as far as business establishments are concerned.
Ang said some malls are already using the app.
Ang also said that the sanctions for the business establishments who have not yet registered is still suspended in line with City Ordinance No. 941 (COVID-19 Contact Tracing System Ordinance of Bacolod City) authored by Councilor Lady Gles Pallen, president of the Liga ng mga Barangay.
The ordinance covers all business establishments, government offices, residents, and visitors within the territorial jurisdiction of Bacolod City, including public utilities and spaces, such as but not limited to, public markets, public terminals and public transport.
To facilitate the app’s use, Bacolod City residents and visitors to the city will be required to register online in the BaCTrac system.
To register, one can visit www.bacolodcity.gov.ph and access the BaCTrac page, Ang added.
She explained that upon registration, an individual will be issued a BaCTrac Card which contains his/her name, address, identification number, and a uniquely assigned quick response (QR) code.
Business and government establishments will also be required to download the mobile app’s “CCTS Logger” on Google Store to be able to scan BaCTrac cards.
The cards will be used to sign a digital logbook, through scanning the QR code, upon entry into government premises or private establishments for the purpose of recording the date and time of visit.
Under the ordinance, penalties ranging from ₱ 1,000, ₱ 2,500, and ₱ 5,000 and/or imprisonment for not more than six months for the first, second, and third and succeeding offenses, respectively, await private establishments and government offices that fail to comply.
The same range of penalties shall be meted on individuals who will use the BaCTrac Card of another person upon entry into government premises or business establishments in Bacolod City.
(Dolly Yasa via The Daily Guardian, photo courtesy by Bacolod City Provincial Information Office)