All business establishments in Quezon City are now required to use the “KyusiPass” contact tracing application to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and its new variants.

City Ordinance No. PO21CC-456 mandates establishments to prepare their QR (quick response) codes for the full implementation of “KyusiPass”.

“Considering the reported cases of a more contagious and transmissible COVID-19 variant, e.g. Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, there is a need to fully implement the “KyusiPass Ordinance” not later than August 15, 2021,” the ordinance reads.

“We need to immediately implement our digital contact tracing app to beef up our contact tracing,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a statement. “The key to prevent the spread of the Delta variant is through a stricter contact tracing that we can achieve through KyusiPass.”

She lamented that there are establishments that do not properly use the app, like the bars that were recently closed for various violations.

“We found out that those bars have KyusiPass at their entrances for display only. When we tried to contact trace their customers, their database were empty. Such irresponsible behavior renders our contact tracing efforts useless and negatively affects our pandemic response. With the swift passage of this ordinance, we can now do random checks of various establishments and determine if they are really using the app properly,” Belmonte said.

Under the ordinance, business owners must secure a dedicated QR code from the Business Permits and Licensing Department.

Establishments that fail to comply with the ordinance will be penalized PHP3,000 and the franchise or business permit suspended until the violation is rectified for the first offense.

For the second offense, a PHP5,000 fine, suspension of franchise or business permit, and temporary closure order will be issued.

Finally, the business permit or franchise will be revoked and a closure order will be issued, on top of a PHP5,000 fine, for the third offense. (PNA)