Following its recently rolled out initiatives to fortify its safety protocols to combat the pandemic, the Sarangani province saw 28 new recoveries out of the 45 who beat COVID-19 in the SOCCSKSARGEN Region, tallied in early November by the Department of Health.
Among the initiatives rolled out by the Sarangani provincial government is the use of StaySafe.ph, a web and mobile application (iOS, Android and Huawei) that has contact tracing, health condition reporting, QR code scanning, digital logbook and social distancing features. The platform enables contact tracing by alerting its users if they have come into close contact with COVID-19 cases declared by local government units (LGUs) under suspect, probable and confirmed cases.
Sarangani’s Provincial Capitol has also mandated all its staff and visitors to use StaySafe.ph inside the compound. All offices have deployed QR codes by their entrances, to be scanned by visitors before entering their premises.. The platform’s digital logbook also provides an efficient way to replace the manual logging of visitors’ health check, which requires the use of pen and paper that can potentially transmit the virus.
StaySafe.ph’s manual and digital contact tracing, as well as real-time heat mapping features are being mobilized by the Province to protect its citizens and send immediate medical response, if needed. Citizens are also able to protect themselves, their families and communities with the social distancing notifications, COVID-19 nearby alerts, health tips, city hotlines, among others.
Contact Tracing Czar Benjamin Magalong urged more LGUs and the public to use StaySafe.ph, citing Sarangani’s recovery rate, “Sarangani’s Covid-19 recovery rate is truly inspiring. It is a testament to the potency of the use of digital contact tracing, specifically, StaySafe.ph. Ito po ay libre, it will just take you five minutes po para makapag-register po dito sa system na ito at ang laki pong bagay ito dahil ito po ay magagamit ninyo sa iba’t ibang establishment sa inyong lugar.” (This is free, it will just take you five minutes to register in the system for such efficient use, which you can utilize in various establishments.)
As of date, over 700 LGUs have adopted StaySafe.ph. The StaySafe.ph technical working group, comprised of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Department of Health and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, hopes to conclude its workshop to the remaining 600 LGUs in the next six months.
StaySafe.ph has now over 5 million users and more than 30,000 companies utilizing the digital logbook and QR code scanning features to protect their employees, visitors and customers.
