COVID-19 New APP to Slow The Spread

The Australian Government has launched the new voluntary coronavirus app, COVIDSafe.

The app is an important public health initiative that will help keep you, your family, and your community safe from further spread of coronavirus through early notification of possible exposure.

Member for Mitchell, the Hon Alex Hawke MP, said everyone in North West Sydney is doing an extraordinary job to flatten the curve and contain the spread of the coronavirus, but we cannot be complacent.

“The Chief Medical Officer’s advice is we need the COVIDSafe app as part of the plan to save lives and save livelihoods,” Alex Hawke said.

“The more people who download this important public health app, the safer they and their family will be, the safer the community will be and the sooner we can safely lift restrictions and get back to business and do the things we love.”

The health initiative uses technology to automate and improve what state and territory health officials already do manually. COVIDSafe will speed up the process of identifying people who have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with coronavirus, quickly stopping further spread of the virus in the community.

Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said the app is part of the three key requirements for easing restrictions: Test, Trace and Respond.

“The app will be one of the critical tools we will use to help protect the health of the community by quickly alerting people who may be at risk of having contact with COVID-19,” Minister Hunt said.

A new determination issued by the Minister for Health under the Biosecurity Act will ensure information provided voluntarily through the App will only be accessible for use by authorised state and territory health officials. Any other access or use will be a criminal offence. 

Unless and until a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, no contact information collected in the app is disclosed or able to be accessed. Then, once the person agrees and uploads the data, only the relevant state or territory public health officials will have access to information. The only information they are allowed to access is that of close contacts – when a person has come within approximately 1.5 metres of another app user for 15 minutes or more – in their jurisdiction.

COVIDSafe only keeps contact information for 21 days. This covers the maximum incubation period for the virus and the time it takes for someone to be tested for COVID-19.

The App can be downloaded from the App stores. For more details visit health.gov.au