A local resident shows a QR code for personal health status at an entry of a housing estate in Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang Province on Feb 13, 2020. Photo: cnsphoto

Eastern China's Hangzhou aims to promote its new health code, released during the COVID-19 pandemic and used to gauge virus infection risks, which has triggered widespread debate online.

Health commission officials in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, deployed the work on health code integration, including citizens' digital cases, health examinations, and lifestyle management on Friday, the Xiaoshan TV reported.

According to the report, the new health code, accessible via smartphones, will monitor health conditions and behavior, including exercise, alcohol consumption, smoking, and sleeping.

The technology will be used to rank citizens according to their health. 

Chinese cities have used health codes to indicate COVID-19 infection risks. Citizens are being asked to show their health codes on their smartphones before entering public places.

The Hangzhou Health Code was released on February 11. It has three colors of red, yellow, and green. Red indicates high infection risk, while green indicates safe from infection.  

The commission vowed to practice the health code in May and June, making the health code a "citizen companion."

The topic "Hangzhou to upload gradient health code" has garnered more than 100 million hits on Weibo, where opinions have remained mixed. 

"That's probably too much. Am I a robot? I cannot be sick otherwise I would be rooted?" said one Weibo user.

"Other people have no right to read my health report," read another comment.  

"I believe the intention of the administrators is good. It could be a convenient form of management," a netizen said.