Some 551 workers from Jingzhou of Hubei Province arrive in Gaungzhou on Thursday. Photo: CNS photo

Hubei is promoting the digital health code to serve as a certificate for those returning to work or life in other parts of China. The country is also encouraging more provincial regions to recognize the Hubei health code.

On Thursday, 1,631 migrant workers arrived at South China's Guangdong Province from Jingzhou, Hubei. They will work in 898 Guangdong companies. 

A total of 40,000 Hubei people will return to work in Guangdong by using the health code, the CNR reported.

The Baiyun district of Guangzhou was the first to announce recognition of the Hubei health code on March 16. Hubei people with a green code do not need to be quarantined and tested when returning to Baiyun.

People can apply for the health code through online platforms. They need to fill in basic information such as their ID number, mobile phone number and detailed address. Then they answer questions that evaluated whether they have risks of COVID-19 infection.

Afterward, applicants are given red, yellow or green codes, which show the risk of them to be infected with the COVID-19. The green code means the lowest risk.

More regions are accepting the Hubei health code. For instance, Hangzhou, capital city of East China's Zhejiang Province, announced that Hubei people with a green code do not need to be quarantined upon arriving in Hangzhou and can start their work immediately.

People from other regions entering Hubei can also apply for the health code. Those with a "green code" could travel inside Hubei, the province announced Thursday.

The idea of a health code was first developed and realized in Hangzhou by platforms attached to Alibaba, including Alipay and DingTalk, according to the CNR. 

The Yuhang district of Hangzhou first released the health code policy on February 7, which was promoted to 200 cities in two weeks.