Chile Backtracks on ‘Immunity Cards’ Amid Backlash Over Bias

Concept of coronavirus immunity cards debated globally
Health Minister Manalich cited potential discrimination

A pedestrian crosses a nearly empty street in Santiago, Chile, on Monday, April 20, 2020. Chile has a system of rolling obligatory quarantines based on a formula combining an area's new cases per capita, the size of its elderly population and access to health care.

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By Philip Sanders

May 11, 2020 at 11:57 AM UTC

Updated on

May 11, 2020 at 5:16 PM UTC

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Chile is ditching plans to pioneer a system of immunity cards for those who’ve recovered from Covid-19 following warnings it could fuel discrimination -- and more infection.

The system, which would have been the first of its type in the world, was officially halted for one of the very reasons it was initially considered -- to avoid creating a two-tier jobs market, Health Minister Jaime Manalich said on Sunday.