More than two million Australians have downloaded the new voluntary coronavirus app, COVIDSafe, since it was launched on Sunday 26 April.
As at 1.26pm Tuesday 28 April, 2.44 million people had downloaded the app which Federal Minister for Government Services, Stuart Robert described as being developed with one purpose: to stop the spread of coronavirus.
“Once installed and running, the COVIDSafe app uses Bluetooth to look for other phones that also have the app installed,” Minister Robert said.
“It then securely makes a ‘digital handshake’, which notes the date and time, distance and duration of the contact. All information collected by the app is securely encrypted and stored in the app on the user’s phone. No one, not even the user, can access it.
“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.”
Senator for the ACT, Zed Seselja, said everyone in Canberra 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,” Senator Seselja said.
“The more people who download this important public health app, the safer everyone will be and the sooner we can safely lift restrictions, get back to business and back to doing the things we love.”
The app can be downloaded from the app stores. For more details, visit health.gov.au
No new cases for Canberra
Meanwhile there have been no new cases of COVID-19 recorded in the ACT in the past 24 hours. The ACT’s total is still 106.
A total of 101 cases have recovered and have been released from isolation; there are currently no patients in Canberra hospitals; and the remaining two active cases are isolating at home with ACT Health support.
The ACT has recorded three deaths.
The number of negative tests in the ACT is now 8,242.
The case that had been under investigation has now been classified as acquired overseas. The ACT now has no cases currently under investigation.
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