The Bacolod City COVID-19 Contact Tracing (BaCTrac) System has registered some 353,012 residents and 7,012 business establishments as of Tuesday (Nov. 17).
City Ordinance (CO) 941, “An Ordinance Implementing the Covid-19 Contact Tracing in the City of Bacolod” requires the registration as part of the city’s continued efforts to curb infections.
Councilor Lady Gles Gonzales-Pallen, author of CO 941, said that the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) outlining sanctions for the implementation of penalties on unregistered establishments has not been finalized yet.
Section 13 provides sanctions for any government office or private establishment which fails to register in the Bac-Trac within 15 days from the effectivity of the ordinance.
However, it can only be implemented once the IRR is already approved.
On the other hand, CO 941 does not set a deadline for individuals to register and does not also prescribe penalties for those who fail to register.
BaCTrac is an innovation being optimized by the Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center for the efficient and expeditious tracing of contacts of confirmed Covid-19-positive patients.
To register, a user can visit www.bacolodcity.gov.ph and access the Bac-Trac page.
The registered individual is issued a BaCTrac card, which features the holder’s name, address, identification number, and a uniquely-assigned quick response (QR) code.
Upon entering a government building, a shopping mall, and similar establishments, the QR code from the holder’s card is scanned to digitally record the date and time of entry of visit.
Through the online contact tracing system, the city government can record the movement of residents around the city and elsewhere in the province and easily locate people suspected of interacting with Covid-19 patients.
Also, city residents seeking authority to travel are also required to have a BaCTrac card.
Previously, an individual was required to submit a chest X-ray result to secure a medical certificate as part of the requirements for the issuance of a travel authority. On the last week of October, the City Health Office discouraged chest X-ray as a requirement for a medical certificate as it “does not detect Covid”.
“What’s important is their history of travel and exposure, which BaCTrac would help establish,” Dr. Edwin Miraflor Jr., officer-in-charge of CHO, said. – NLG
