The Chinese University of Hong Kong and ConsenSys create COVID-19 digital passport

The COVID-19 Digital Health Passport will be trialed by healthcare professionals in Hong Kong. Later on, patients will be able to access the passport through a mobile app.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, or CUHK, has partnered with Ethereum developer ConsenSys to launch a new blockchain-based Medoxie COVID-19 Digital Health Passport – a product that could help healthcare workers combat the pandemic.

The passport utilizes blockchain technology to record a patient’s COVID-19-related events, including test results, temperature checks and vaccinations, with the aim of providing a safe pathway to full economic reopening post-pandemic. Information that is held on the passport is said to be stored securely and privately.

Initially, the digital passport will be accessed by medical professionals and academics within Hong Kong’s healthcare industry, paving the way for a new mobile app that will be extended to patients at a later date. The passport infrastructure has been built using ConsenSys Quorum and Codefi Orchestrate.

Dr. Arafet Ben Makhlouf, senior technical architect at ConsenSys, explained how the passport could help Hong Kong and other regions transition back to normal life following the multi-year pandemic:

“This COVID-19 blockchain passport uses trusted blockchain technology to protect user data, making it verifiable and secure. We are proud to support The Chinese University of Hong Kong with its efforts to apply innovative technologies to help health sectors and communities proactively respond to COVID-19, and transition back to life as normal.”

ConsenSys has been the recipient of major investments in recent years, culminating in a $65 million raise in April led by banking giants JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard and UBS.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong has been exploring the use of blockchain technology for several years. During the height of the pandemic in early 2020, a University professor claimed that blockchain technology could help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The pandemic has infected more than 176.3 million people globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 2.4 billion vaccine doses have been distributed.