ALL ISSUES surrounding the contact tracing application StaySafe.PH have already been resolved, Malacañang said on Tuesday.
In a virtual presser, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said it is all systems go for the StaySafe.PH system.
“Lahat po ng kontrobersiya tungkol dito sa app na ito ay natapos na (All controversies concerning thus app have already been resolved),” Roque said. “We have decided to go full speed ahead with Safety.PH ‘no. So ano na po iyan (it is already) all systems [go for] StaySafe.PH.”
Roque’s statement came the same day when coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) testing czar and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said it is difficult to categorically say StaySafe.PH is “highly reliable” more than a month after its mandatory use.
During the Laging Handa program, Magalong said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is still studying StaySafe.PH because of its “lack of documentation.”
In November 2020, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) mandated the use of StaySafe.PH in all national government agencies and local government units.
However, the House lawmakers earlier questioned the contact tracing application’s accuracy after the country was only able to identify at least seven contacts per coronavirus-infected person when the ideal contact tracing ratio should be 1:35 for urban areas and 1:30 for rural communities.
Roque announced in March this year the full implementation of StaySafe.PH after issues concerning the application have already been settled.
In April this year, the IATF-EID approved the recommendation to use automatic contact tracing through Smart Messaging System to improve the use of StaySafe.PH.
The DILG has been directed to be the overall lead in the implementation, while the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has been instructed to lead in the interoperability.
The Department of Health (DOH) has likewise been tasked to ensure integration of the StaySafe.PH with the Covid-19 Document Repository System.
To formulate the necessary action plan with specific timelines and targets, the DILG has been directed to immediately coordinate and convene with DICT and DOH. (By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos)
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