Ilocos Norte adopts ‘SafePass’ app to manage Covid-19

By Leilanie G. Adriano (Staff Reporter)

LAOAG CITY—As the province of Ilocos Norte relaxes its borders to tourists and returning residents, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte is urging all its residents and visitors to adopt the use of the “SafePass” app to manage COVID-19 cases.

Instead of scanning piles of logbook and reviewing CCTV footages for contract-tracing purposes, “SafePass” is a digital incident mitigation and management system developed to address COVID-19 safety protocols, and now has free versions that can be used by anyone from anywhere.

In a three-page Executive Order, which Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc issued on Oct. 21, 2020, the governor said there is a need to adopt SafePass to minimize the adverse effects of COVID-19.

According to Wilfredo Lorenzo Jr, the provincial government’s information technology department officer-in-charge, he said that starting October 21, 2020 all Capitol employees will use the “SafePass” app when entering the premises of the Provincial Capitol building. Other public offices including city and municipal halls, national government agencies, DOT-accredited establishments, private establishments that accept foot traffic, tourists and residents are also strongly encouraged to register and get their unique quick response (QR) code via the “SafePass” portal.

The QR code or “SafePass” ID will then be used when entering SafePass-enabled locations.

"The SafePass will help organizations to operate safely as it offers effective contact tracing capability for all physical locations in any part of the country while enabling location managers to implement health protocols within their physical spaces through a simple and easy-to-understand dashboard,” Mr. Lorenzo explained.

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