Drivers in some areas have to scan QR codes before entering a city Lai Li/Xinhua/Alamy Live News

IN A bid to contain the country’s coronavirus outbreak, the Chinese government has teamed up with tech firms to monitor citizens and track confirmed cases of infection with the covid-19 virus.

On 16 February, Alipay – the world’s largest mobile payments platform – announced that a colour-coded QR phone app to monitor individuals in China would be available within a week.

The app assigns individuals a QR code with a red, yellow or green status based on their travel history and self-reported health. Anyone flagged …