China removes indication of travel through COVID-hit cities on mobile app

Individuals sporting protecting face masks carry their baggage at Capital Airport, following an outbreak of the coronavirus illness (COVID-19), in Beijing, China, November 5, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

BEIJING, June 29 (Reuters) – A state-mandated Chinese language cellular app that exhibits whether or not or not a person has travelled in a metropolis with COVID-affected areas will not specify such journey historical past, the Ministry of Business and Data Expertise stated on Wednesday.

The asterisk mark indicating a person has travelled in a metropolis with COVID-19 instances will not seem on the app as a part of efforts to make home journey extra handy, the ministry stated.

The asterisk mark has helped native authorities establish guests who’ve gone to areas with sporadic COVID instances and assist native officers impose various levels of curbs, corresponding to quarantine and COVID testing.

Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Ryan Woo; Enhancing by Andrew Heavens

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