Social distancing, also called “physical distancing,”
means keeping space between yourself and other people outside of your home. Social
distancing is a public health practice that aims to prevent sick people from
coming in close contact with healthy people in order to reduce opportunities
for disease transmission. It can include large-scale measures like canceling
group events or closing public spaces, as well as individual decisions such as
avoiding crowds. To practice social or
physical distancing:
- Stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) from other people
- Do not gather in groups
- Stay out of crowded places and avoid mass gatherings
In addition to everyday steps to prevent COVID-19,
keeping space between you and others is one of the best tools we have to avoid
being exposed to this virus and slowing its spread locally and across the
country and world.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is defined as illness caused by a
novel coronavirus now called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2). The COVID-19 virus spreads through droplets of saliva or
discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes. At this
time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak affects hundreds of
thousands of people and it has a growing impact on how we live our daily lives.
This article is aimed at supplying healthcare providers with ways to use our
free QR Code tool to help prevent the disease from spreading further.
Need of Social Distance
COVID-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact (within
about 6 feet) for a prolonged period. Spread happens when an infected person
coughs, sneezes, or talks, and droplets from their mouth or nose are launched
into the air and land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The droplets can
also be inhaled into the lungs. Recent studies indicate that people who are
infected but do not have symptoms likely also play a role in the spread of
COVID-19. COVID-19 can live for hours or days on a surface, depending on
factors such as sun light and humidity. Social distancing helps limit contact
with infected people and contaminated surfaces.
With COVID-19, the goal of social distancing right now is to slow down
the outbreak in order to reduce the chance of infection among high-risk
populations and to reduce the burden on health care systems and workers.
QR Code is the quickest way to access information stored within a
two-dimensional barcode. It contains seven different elements that made up its
square shape and can store various types of information. A QR Code can store up
to 4296 characters. A QR Code is easy to read because it has three position
detection patterns that make it easy for scanners to read the Code at any angle.
QR Code acts as a close contact detector:
During the COVID-19 outbreak, China rolled out a mobile app enabling
people to check whether they are at the risk of catching the disease. People
fill in their details in a questionnaire and when they’re done, they’re
assigned a color-based QR Code that indicated their health status. The QR Code
has three colors: Green for the general public, yellow for people returning
from affected countries, and red for patients, suspected cases, or people under
medical observation. There are checkpoints at most public places where the QR
Code and person’s body temperature is checked. Those with green Codes are
allowed in public spheres while people with yellow and red Codes are advised to
stay in.
Restaurants are taking the lead in “sanitizing” their establishments
To help slow down the spread of coronavirus on surfaces, restaurants are
now slowly getting rid of paper menus. A popular ice cream parlor in Savannah,
Georgia has started to replace their paper menus with just a QR Code on its
entrance doors. Some establishments are even using QR Codes to replace the
ordering and payment system entirely.
QR Code ideas you can implement in hospital or clinic right now
QR Codes are not only cost-effective, but they are also quick and easy
to implement. Plus, in the wake of COVID-19, there’s an added benefit that
keeps everyone clean through contactless interactions. Below are just some of
the QR Code examples you can create for your healthcare facility.
Eliminate paper based registrations for patients
It’s easy to set up, and there is absolutely zero cost to implement this
QR Code in your patient registration process. You only need to print or display
a QR Code at the entrance or directly at the waiting room for a hassle-free and
no-contact registration process.
Provide contactless information
Hospitals and clinics are big proponents of sharing information via
brochures, flyers, and posters. You’ve seen them everywhere on the counter,
tables in the waiting room, and even in doctors’ offices. Not only are they a
waste of resources, but they are also rarely replaced or cleaned. What if
there’s a way to reduce paper waste and still share information without
physically touching them?
Streamline inventory management
Proper inventory management at a healthcare facility can be tricky. By
adding QR Codes into your inventory, you can implement a more organized system
that could potentially help cut costs as well. Use Plain Text QR Code to assign
labels to your storage drawers or cabinets so you can check what’s in them with
a quick scan. You can also assign a different color to each QR Code to indicate
their type, expiry date, and more