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April 28, 2020

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2 million Australians download virus tracking app

Source: AFP | 00:00 UTC+8 April 28, 2020 | Print Edition

Nearly 2 million Australians rushed to download a new smartphone app designed to make coronavirus contact tracing easier, the government said yesterday, overlooking privacy concerns in the hope of speeding up the end of social-distancing lockdowns.

Health Minister Greg Hunt hailed the take-up since the app was released on Sunday evening as 鈥渆xtraordinary,鈥 saying 1.9 million people had downloaded the program in less than 24 hours.

The nation of 25 million people has uncovered just over 6,700 instances of coronavirus, with the rate of new cases falling to 10-20 per day.

Like governments around the world, Australian authorities are under growing pressure to ease restrictions on travel and public gatherings imposed to halt the spread of the virus, but which have devastated the economy.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said many of the restrictions, which include a ban on travel to Australia by non-residents, will last until at least September.

But he has said some easing could begin sooner if authorities can expand testing for the virus and improve tracing to catch new outbreaks quickly.

Experts heralded the new 鈥淐OVIDSafe鈥 app as a key way to implement the contact tracing.

The app works by using smartphones鈥 Bluetooth function to detect other users nearby. If a user tests positive, anyone who has been in close proximity can then be notified, making rapid tracking of the disease much easier. The system is seen as a key stepping stone to removing social distancing restrictions that have shuttered bars, restaurants, offices and most classrooms for the last month.

There has been widespread concern about what Morrison鈥檚 conservative government 鈥 which has a record of pushing the boundaries of civil rights protections 鈥 would do with the data.

But Hunt and other officials were at pains yesterday to stress the app is not a location tracker and that only state health authorities will use the data.

鈥淭his is simply about helping us find and alert anybody who may have been exposed to the virus,鈥 Hunt said.

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