LabX signs MOA with C.L.E.A.R. COVID-19 app for contact tracing

MANILA — Leading COVID-19 testing firm LabX Corp. has inked a partnership with local software company Spring Valley Tech Corp. (SVTC) to aid in contact tracing in the country as the COVID-19 pandemic grips the world.

In a memorandum of agreement signed last week, LabX, in partnership with Spring Valley Tech Corp., will undertake the tracing capability and functionalities of Citizen’s Logistics and Early Assessment Report tool (C.L.E.A.R.), a software application that provides record-creation and contact-tracing functionalities for the control and monitoring of COVID-19.

“Establishing a partnership with LabX further enhances the value proposition of CLEAR as it unifies LabX’s excellence and reliability in COVID-19 testing with CLEAR’s powerful digital experience to ensure our nation’s safety and health,” said Jonathan Defensor De Luzuriaga, Chief Executive Officer of Spring Valley Tech Corp. and president of the Philippine Software Industry Association.

“Through this contact tracing app, we could save more lives and the livelihood of the people. This could also provide a health-information exchange that will allow contact tracing in the country, which will be very useful for the government. The C.L.E.A.R. pass, which is based on testing results, act as the main pass parameter which will be essential for all economic activities such as entry to transport, workplaces, restaurants, and buildings,” shared Hector Thomas Navasero, chairman and CEO of LabX Corp.

LabX said it is important for the public to contribute vital data so that their state of health and touch-points with other individuals will be updated from time to time. With this information, it added, the authorities can offer other initiatives alongside mass testing that can help allay the public’s concerns.”

C.L.E.A.R. is a web-based and mobile contact-tracing application that provides local government units and business units with an organizational tool for their initiatives to combat COVID-19. It also allows users to track their state of health and enable contact tracing through GPS and Bluetooth technology.

The community-driven contact-tracing app will notify users of possible health concerns and whether there have been recent and relevant connections with other people who may be novel coronavirus-compromised. C.L.E.A.R. will also automatically connect to other mobile devices through the app and exchange anonymized IDs stored in encrypted form.

A contact-tracing app is designed to let people know if they have been in close contact with someone who later reports positive for COVID-19. It could pinpoint exactly who needs to be in quarantine and who doesn’t, making it key to easing up social distancing measures. The purpose of the contact-tracing app is to try and track down people and alert them of the need to self-isolate faster than traditional methods.

Developed by Spring Valley and CMI Tech, C.L.E.A.R. aims to empower its users by providing them the means to gather, organize, and analyze information to arrive at the most efficient solution to contain and, eventually, eliminate COVID-19.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has also hailed C.L.E.A.R. as a “brilliant” piece of technology to combat COVID-19.

LabX Corp. is the exclusive distributor of Cellex, the first and only United States and Philippine FDA-approved qSARS-CoV2-IgG/IgM rapid test kit in the market. It is also poised to launch the first antigen test kit in the Philippines.

(The author is LabX Corp. Director for Corporate Affairs.)

ASU