The municipality of Buenavista in Guimaras has introduced an innovation to make contact tracing faster to control the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Buenavista Mayor Eugenio Reyes said that starting tomorrow, July 6, residents who will leave and enter the town through the Sto. Rosario wharf will have to present their resident identification or contact tracing card for scanning.

Executive Order 35, which the mayor signed on June 29, 2020, encourages residents of the municipality to use the card as part of additional disease control measures.

The barcoded ID card has the personal profile of the bearer and added features like the boarding pass and the name of their assigned motorboat. Upon scanning of the ID, the date and time of entry and exit of the ID holder with the nearest contacts will also be determined.

“During a meeting with the municipal IATF (inter-agency task force), we decided to come up with an innovation. There was a proposal to come up with an ID system for contact tracing/tracing cards to easily identify places they have visited and who they are with,” he said.

Since the ID system is voluntary, those who would like to avail of such can secure the residents’ profile form for the ID from their respective barangay officials or download at www. tinyurl.com/residentsprofileform.

The filled-in form will again be submitted to the barangay officials, who in turn will endorse them to the local IATF for encoding.

Residents, from five years old and above, are eligible to secure the ID. Reyes said this is in consideration of learners who are five years old and above who travel to Iloilo City to attend school.

“The ID can be used while we continue to battle the Covid-19. It can also be used as a valid ID in the meantime,” he said.

He added that the issuance of the ID will not contradict the national ID system. The resident’s personal information is protected under the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

Meanwhile, Reyes said that, apart from the wharf, they hope to also install the scanner in markets, business establishments, and government facilities.

“As of now the encoding is ongoing. This is at no expense on the part of residents because everything is being shouldered by the LGU,” the mayor said.

As of July 2, more than 4,000 IDs were printed while more than 8,000 forms have been encoded.

The LGU targets to issue IDs to more than 40,000 of its 55,000 total population.

At present, Buenavista and the whole of Guimaras province remain free from the Covid-19.Perla Lena/PNA