The Avalanche blockchain already verifies initiatives of law and decrees of the Congress of Quintana Roo. The technology firm Genobank is the first in Mexico to create anonymous DNA test kits.
The Mexican state of Quintana Roo, one of the main tourist destinations in the country, will become the first entity in Mexico to certify tests to detect covid-19 with blockchain, to combat the black market of false tests.
Quintana Roo sponsors the Cancun-Riviera Maya Tourist Corridor, where the influx of foreign visitors has remained even in the pandemic. Relying on tourism, it has become urgent for authorities to maintain high health standards, and the reliability of PCR tests is an important factor.
The local government, through the Quintana Roo Institute of Innovation and Technology (IQIT), and GenoBank.io, signed a collaboration and interoperability agreement to develop a certificate system on the Avalanche blockchain.
This implementation allows anyone to verify the certificate of the Covid-19 tests , through a QR code so that they can be verified internationally without leaving personal data in business clouds, avoiding its misuse.
The certificate will be issued by clinical analysis laboratories approved by the authority in charge of protection against sanitary risks in Mexico, COFREPRIS.
GenoBank.io, the company founded by a Mexican and based in Silicon Valley, is in charge of developing the cryptographic firm for the project. On the other hand, the tests will be verified through Avalanche , an open source platform for interoperable blockchains.
With the new Avalanche integration “the result will be fully public, having the QR that will only be available to the patient or end user,” said Ricardo Vázquez, Avalanche Growth Lead , in statements to CriptoNoticias.
He added that the information is encrypted and does not store any personal data , so it is totally secure. Only if the person publishes it, for example, on Twitter, will the information of the result be made public, Vázquez concluded.
Argentines test positive for Covid-19 after performing false PCR tests in Mexico
The authorities of Quintana Roo seek to combat the black market of tests to detect Covid-19 , after an “international scandal” related to the sale of false tests occurred.
Last March, Argentine students who were on exchange in Mexico, PCR tests were carried out that ended up being false, which resulted in dozens of infected students.
After an investigation, it was revealed that the tests were carried out by a laboratory in Mexico without technical authorization to operate, according to the Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion, Hugo López-Gatell.
The laboratory was closed by the Prosecutor’s Office on March 17, 2021. However, without a tool that allows users to verify the validity of the tests, the black market for vaccines and PCR tests could continue.
Forbes has pointed out that this illegal activity has occurred in various entities of the country by criminal groups that “set up apocryphal laboratories.”
The Avalanche blockchain as a tool to combat corruption
The Avalanche blockchain allows to verify the tests with global access certificates, through an unalterable time stamp that gives certainty of the validity period of the test.
It is necessary to clarify that no blockchain by itself can prevent false information from being produced. However, this technology allows the source of information to be audited and tracked.
Avalanche has already had integrations in the government of Quintana Roo before. The first institutional integration of Avalanche was on March 1 , when the State Legislative Congress announced that it would implement its blockchain to certify opinions, initiatives and decrees.
This makes it possible for any citizen or visitor to the state to verify that their test is certified with greater security, since personal data does not appear on the PCR test certificate. Furthermore, after using it, users can exercise their right to be digitally forgotten.
GenoBank, spearheads unfalsifiable PCR testing and genetic blockchain projects
GenoBank is known for developing anonymous blockchain DNA test kits. In February 2021, he developed unforgeable PCR tests in a network of Mexican laboratories.
In March of this year, GenoBank presented the blockchain-based PCR testing project to international migration authorities.