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Bloomberg
Australia launched mobile-phone software to help trace people infected with the coronavirus as parts of the country start to loosen restrictions on movement.
The COVIDSafe app records digital handshakes between smartphones via Bluetooth, and if someone catches the virus, health authorities can track who has been within 1.5 metres of the person for 15 minutes or more. Some 1.1 million people have signed up since its launch.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says broader testing and contact-tracking are pre-requisites for Australia to broadly ease social-distancing restrictions after Queensland and Western Australia states announced the lifting of some controls. The government needs to overcome privacy concerns to convince people to use the app, and says at least 40% of the 26 million-strong population must do so for it to be successful.
“The more people who download this important public health app, the safer they and their family will be, the safer their community will be and the sooner we can safely lift restrictions,†Morrison said.
A similar app in India became the fastest-ever to reach 50 million users, despite being dogged by privacy concerns.
Countries including Singapore, where similar technology is in use, say contact tracing is strictly for disease control and is not to be used to enforce lockdowns or quarantines.
An Australian Institute survey of about 1,000 people showed 45% of respondents were willing to use the contact-tracing app in the country, while 28% said they wouldn’t.