Coronavirus tracing app not fully functional yet

THE coronavirus tracing app has gone live, and the federal Coalition has linked a possible easing of lockdown restrictions from as early as tomorrow (Friday, May 8) to the number of Australians who have the app on their phones.
Despite being downloaded more than four million times since it was launched on April 26, COVIDSafe is not yet fully functional (as of Tuesday afternoon), but the Coalition says this is deliberate.
The National Cabinet has brought forward its consideration of the decision on relaxing restrictions to tomorrow, and on Friday last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “the first step” to allowing Australians to go to the pub was downloading the app.
“Now, if that isn’t an incentive for Australians to download COVIDSafe on a Friday, I don’t know what is.”
On Saturday, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt tweeted: “Want to go to the footy? Download the app”
The COVIDSafe app – which is voluntary – recognises other devices with the same app installed and Bluetooth enabled.
It notes the date, time, distance and duration of the contact and the other user’s reference code, but does not collect the location.
When someone is diagnosed with COVID-19, state health officials will ask them or their parent/guardian who they have been in contact with. If the person has the COVIDSafe app and provides their permission, the encrypted contact information from the app will be uploaded to a secure information storage system.
However, health officials cannot yet get access to that contact information, with Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd saying on Saturday that particular feature was to go live at an unspecified time “during the current week”.
A spokesperson for Mr Hunt said the app “was working and operational”.
“We have made a commitment that privacy will be paramount and that information will not be released until the protocols with the states and territories on access to that information are finalised. That is under way and will be completed ahead of Friday when National Cabinet makes its key decisions on easing restrictions.”
Corangamite Labor federal member Libby Coker and Victorian Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson have both downloaded the app and are encouraging others to do the same.