7 chapters across the catalog
A technical failure in the digital health code system in Xi'an, China, prevented residents from accessing work and public spaces during a strict lockdown of 10 million people. The glitch created a paradox where technicians could not travel to fix the system because they lacked the necessary digital clearance.
China Zero-COVID Strategy, Space-Time Accompanier Term
Chinese officials in Shanghai have introduced the term "space-time accompanier" to describe individuals who were within six blocks of a confirmed COVID-19 patient for at least ten minutes. This designation triggers a yellow health code on the citizen's smartphone, barring them from public places until they complete a two-week quarantine. Nearly 100,000 people in a single city were flagged using cell phone signal tracking.
Digital Health Passports, AOK Pass Travel Industry
The travel industry is adopting digital health passports like AOK Pass to verify COVID-19 test results and vaccination status. Airlines including JetBlue and United are testing these apps, which generate unique QR codes for travelers. The market for these services is estimated at $20 billion. Analysts suggest this system will create a tiered travel experience, incentivizing vaccination to avoid frequent testing requirements.
Health Passport Ireland is a new mobile technology designed to track COVID-19 test results and vaccination status via a digital "green, amber, or red" display. The system requires regular testing to keep the passport active for travel and hospitality access, which is characterized as a "scam" to enforce permanent digital surveillance.
New ICD-10 medical codes have been established by the WHO to track COVID-19 related data, including specific codes for "vaccination declined" and "vaccination contraindicated." These international standards are used for billing and permanent patient records, raising concerns about the long-term tracking of individuals who refuse the vaccine.
China has implemented a color-coded QR system to track citizens' travel history and health status, where a green code is required to enter restaurants and apartment blocks. This digital identity system is being used by authorities to enforce quarantines and monitor the movement of infected individuals. The system is described as a "9/11 moment" for the current age, potentially leading to permanent marks of health status.
The launch of Google Health and the digitization of medical records are examined through the lens of insurance billing. Patient advocate Dave deBronckart discovered that his medical history was populated by insurance codes rather than clinical notes, leading to dangerous inaccuracies such as being mislabeled as schizophrenic due to chemotherapy side effects.
