Are you Going to use the COVIDsafe App?

[serfty]

I did research this a fair bit and I decided I was happy to:

Privacy Policy

The COVIDSafe app speeds up contacting people exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19). This helps us support and protect you, your friends and family. Please read the content on this page before downloading.

www.health.gov.au

 

[Spongbob]

Apparently the Feds will reassess when NSW reaches 20 contacts found. According to their ‘horizons‘ this will be sometime in 2023. It could easily be put back though.

Yes, that would be the "gold standard", but it is not a race.

 

[moa999]

technology to make it work properly was offered to the world.

But only without alerting the government.

You get a beep on your phone. You may have been in contact with a Covid positive person. Please isolate for 14 days

How many people are going to ignore that?

 

[jb747]

But only without alerting the government.

You get a beep on your phone. You may have been in contact with a Covid positive person. Please isolate for 14 days

How many people are going to ignore that?

Probably quite a lot. But on the other hand, I'd expect a pretty decent number would follow it up. But the alternative is a government app that doesn't actually work, and which has been uninstalled by many (most?).

 

[moa999]

Probably quite a lot. But on the other hand, I'd expect a pretty decent number would follow it up. But the alternative is a government app that doesn't actually work, and which has been uninstalled by many (most?).

The alternative is the check-in systems that the various state governments are running, which probably provides a better record in indoor settings given the fleeting contact that can transmit Delta. Albeit does require a little more effort on behalf of the individual.

About the only place that doesn't cover is public transport.
At least in Sydney they've been encouraging the few who still use public transport to use registered Opal cards, and have been alerting positives on that basis.

 

[nutwood]

I think the basic flaw is expecting a virus to work in with Bluetooth. Whether or not it's "Delta", all any virus needs is a bit of luck and it's on to the next recipient. This is, and remains, the basic flaw with the app. Trying to use technology, not designed for the purpose and built across a variety of platforms, to determine whether someone is at risk of picking up a virus was only ever going to have limited success. Good stick, poor crutch.
To make it useful, you'd really have to have the phones recording every phone they came near, regardless of time or proximity. 100 people in a shop, that's 10,000 interactions. Following Murphy's law, it might of course be 9801 as one person didn't have their phone on and unfortunately, that one person was the Covid carrier!
On the other hand, log everyone into the shop, 100 records and the possibility of 100% compliance. I dislike the Covid check in system but from a practical point of view, it's far more likely to be effective.

 

[Spacetravel]

About the only place that doesn't cover is public transport.
At least in Sydney they've been encouraging the few who still use public transport to use registered Opal cards, and have been alerting positives on that basis.

Oh, I travel on Hillsbus and they have QR codes at every seat and ask to check in. Strangely though this is only on about 2/3 of the buses I go on. Trains on the other hand yes no QR code check in.

 

[Lynda2475]

Oh, I travel on Hillsbus and they have QR codes at every seat and ask to check in

As do all the 400 series Sydney Busses (from Leichhardt and Burwood depots).

 

[bcworld]

 

[Spongbob]

Spending $100,000 each week on this is OK, but a $300 vaccination bonus is a waste of taxpayer money?

 

[SydneySwan]

Spending $100,000 each week on this is OK, but a $300 vaccination bonus is a waste of taxpayer money?

PM logic is somewhat different to AFFer logic.

 

[moa999]

Spending $100,000 each week on this is OK, but a $300 vaccination bonus is a waste of taxpayer money?

That quickly goes into the billions with our population.

 

[Spongbob]

That quickly goes into the billions with our population.

And it is not a race.

 

[Spongbob]

Finally ...

From the Guardian Wednesday 10 August 2022: Australia retires CovidSafe contact-tracing app that was barely used

“The app cost around $75,000 a month to run and was touted by former prime minister Scott Morrison as an important measure on par with wearing sunscreen.

It was barely used in the Delta and Omicron outbreaks despite more than 7 million Australians downloading it to help contact tracers, and since launching in April 2020, just 17 “close contacts” in New South Wales were found directly through the app that were not otherwise identified through manual contact-tracing methods.”

URL: Australia retires $21m CovidSafe contact-tracing app that found just two unique cases

 

[TheRealTMA]

Finally ...

From the Guardian Wednesday 10 August 2022: Australia retires CovidSafe contact-tracing app that was barely used

“The app cost around $75,000 a month to run and was touted by former prime minister Scott Morrison as an important measure on par with wearing sunscreen.

It was barely used in the Delta and Omicron outbreaks despite more than 7 million Australians downloading it to help contact tracers, and since launching in April 2020, just 17 “close contacts” in New South Wales were found directly through the app that were not otherwise identified through manual contact-tracing methods.”

URL: Australia retires $21m CovidSafe contact-tracing app that found just two unique cases

One wonders who the shareholders or the investors in the company were so that they were awarded such a lucrative contract for a piece of junk software.

 

[SydneySwan]

One wonders who the shareholders or the investors in the company were so that they were awarded such a lucrative contract for a piece of junk software.

I thought the Shovel got it about right;

“Trust Us On Covid App” Says Government Who Lied About Sports Grants, Water Licences, Travel Expenses, Asylum Seekers, ASIO Leaks And Robodebt

News you can believe in

www.theshovel.com.au

 

[DC3]

“The app cost around $75,000 a month to run and was touted by former prime minister Scott Morrison as an important measure on par with wearing sunscreen.

Not to mention glowing comments at the time from some of our fellow AFFers.

 

[tomlee1986]

Never downloaded this app or used it

 

[moa999]

Just shows what happens when you involve all the consultants... What was essentially a free bit of software (open source from Singapore) becomes a $75m expense.

While I think this app could have been very useful in a low Covid environment, it was cruelled by a few features
- Apple and Android (but particularly Apple) restricting API access and instead promoting a different (also unsuccessful model) that wouldn't notify health authorities. Note that the US was well beyond this app helping
- Some early negative press from some well meaning IT researchers - rather than getting in there and fixing the problems - meant the download rate was always very low.

The various state government barcode check-in apps were certainly more succesfull in roll-out, but probably equally ineffective in preventing any spread

 

[N860CR]

Also goes down to the stupidity of Australia’s covid response. Rather than managing a virus, we went to these bizarre measures to monitor peoples movements. Sadly, nobody will ever be held to account for this pointless attempt at “covid zero”.

 

[harvyk]

- Some early negative press from some well meaning IT researchers - rather than getting in there and fixing the problems - meant the download rate was always very low.

Bingo!

The app was not without flaws, it was turned out in a matter of weeks and had privacy front and centre. But the endless stream of "opinions" meant the app never had a chance.

In the early days I had a look at the code which made up the app, I can assure you most negative "opinion" pieces on the app where wrong. But once people got into their head about the privacy concerns there was no coming back. Ironically I believe there was more of a privacy concern with the QR code apps, WA police proved that quite nicely when they used the collected data for non health related law enforcement, something they couldn't have done with COVIDSafe.

Of course it's all a moot point now.