Page 29 - bon-dia-aruba-20200403

A29
business/technology Friday 3 april 2020
Chinese smartphone health code rules post-virus life

WUHAN, China (AP) — researchers wrote. Once
Since the coronavirus out- aboard the subway, Wu
break, life in China is ruled and other commuters used
by a green symbol on a their smartphones to scan
smartphone screen. a code that recorded the
Green is the "health code" number of the car they
that says a user is symptom- rode in case authorities
free and it’s required to need to find them later.
board a subway, check Visitors to shopping malls,
into a hotel or just enter offices buildings and other
Wuhan, the central city of public places in Wuhan
11 million people where the undergo a similar routine.
pandemic began in De- They show their health
cember. codes and guards in masks
The system is made possible and gloves check them for
by the Chinese public's al- fever before they are al-
most universal adoption lowed in.
of smartphones and the The health codes add to a
ruling Communist Party's steadily growing matrix of
embrace of "Big Data" to high-tech monitoring that
extend its surveillance and tracks what China’s citizens
control over society. do in public, online and at
Walking into a Wuhan sub- In this April 1, 2020, photo, a passenger holds up a green pass on their phone on a subway train in work: Millions of video cam-
way station Wednesday, Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. Green is the "health code" that says a user is symptom- eras blanket streets from
Wu Shenghong, a manag- free and it’s required to board a subway, check into a hotel or just enter Wuhan, the central city major cities to small towns.
er for a clothing manufac- of 11 million people where the pandemic began in December. Censors monitor activity on
turer, used her smartphone (AP Photo/Olivia Zhang) the internet and social me-
to scan a barcode on a fected person but hadn’t code is part of the efforts trols ever imposed. The final dia. State-owned telecom
poster that triggered her finished a two-week quar- by authorities to revive Chi- travel controls on Wuhan carriers can trace where
health code app. A green antine, meaning she should na’s economy while pre- are due to be lifted April 8. mobile phone customers
code and part of her iden- be in a hospital or quaran- venting a spike in infections Other governments should go.
tity card number appeared tined at home. as workers stream back into consider adopting Chi- A vast, computerized sys-
on the screen. Wu, who was on her way to factories, offices and shops. nese-style “digital contact tem popularly known as
A guard wearing a mask see retailers after returning Most access to Wuhan, the tracing,” Oxford University social credit is intended to
and goggles waved her to work this week, said the manufacturing hub of cen- researchers recommend- enforce obedience to offi-
through. system has helped reassure tral China, was suspended ed in a report published cial rules.
If the code had been red, her after a two-month shut- Jan. 23 to fight the corona- Tuesday in the journal Sci- People with too many de-
that would tell the guard down left the streets of Wu- virus. ence. The virus is spreading merits for violations ranging
that Wu was confirmed to han empty. The lockdown spread to too rapidly for traditional from committing felonies
be infected or had a fever People with red or yellow surrounding cities in Hubei methods to track infec- to littering can be blocked
or other symptoms and was codes “are definitely not province and then people tions “but could be con- from buying plane tickets,
awaiting a diagnosis. A yel- running around outside,” nationwide were ordered trolled if this process was getting loans, obtaining
low code would mean she said Wu, 51. “I feel safe.” stay home in the most in- faster, more efficient and government jobs or leaving
had contact with an in- Intensive use of the health tensive anti-disease con- happened at scale,” the the country.q

Stocks rise as a bounce in oil prices lifts energy sector

By STAN CHOE and bia and Russia to back ping below $20 earlier this
DAMIAN J. TROISE away from their price war. week to its lowest price
AP Business Writers The two sides have con- since 2002. At the year's
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall tinued to pull oil out of the start, oil was above $60.
Street pushed higher Thurs- ground to maintain their That helped energy stocks
day after a surge in oil pric- market share, even as de- in the S&P 500 rally 9.4%, by
es helped resuscitate beat- mand for energy cratered far the biggest gain among
en-down energy stocks. because of widespread the 11 sectors that make up
The gains helped overshad- stay-at-home orders and the index. EOG Resources
ow another report showing other economy-damaging jumped 15.5%, ConocoPhil-
the coronavirus outbreak is restrictions caused by the lips leaped 12.1% and Sch-
forcing a record-breaking coronavirus outbreak. The lumberger added 12.6%,
number of Americans into resulting buildup of oil sup- but all three remain down
the unemployment queue. plies sent crude’s price spi- by nearly half for the year.
The S&P 500 was up a little raling by roughly two thirds The overall S&P 500 was In this photo taken from video provided by the New York
more than 1% in midday in the first three months of up 1.9%. The Dow Jones In- Stock Exchange, Robert Glorioso, Chief, Building Engineering
trading after flipping be- the year. dustrial Average rose 384 Operations, rings the opening bell at the NYSE, Thursday, April 2,
tween small gains and loss- Benchmark U.S. crude oil points, or 1.8%, to 21,330, 2020. Stocks are wavering between small gains and losses early
es shortly after the opening pared its gains following and the Nasdaq was up Thursday after a report showed a record number of Americans
bell. It took off with the price its immediate rocket ride 1.7%. Like oil, stocks gave lost their jobs last week due to the coronavirus outbreak.
of oil, which surged more higher, and it was up 23% up some of their gains af- (New York Stock Exchange via AP)
than 30% immediately af- at $24.97 per barrel, as of ter their initial jump higher were. He tweeted only that after talking with Saudi
ter President Donald Trump 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. It's as markets weigh how de- he expects and hopes for Crown Prince Mohammad
said he expects Saudi Ara- rallying back after drop- finitive Trump's comments upcoming production cuts Bin Salman.q