SA’s QR check-in rates continue to fall, sparking a warning from authorities

The decreasing use of QR check-ins and dodgy handwriting is leaving SA dangerously exposed, authorities are warning. Poll: Are you still using the QR code system?

A slump in the use of QR codes to check in to businesses and events has prompted a plea from health authorities, also concerned about illegible handwriting when people leave details the old-­fashioned way.

For the week up to March 20 there were 7,061,818 QR check-ins, down from 8,026,626 the previous week and 8,400,919 the week before that.

All those figures are a far cry from the peak of 11.3 million check-ins in the last week of Christmas shopping in ­December.

The state’s chief public health officer, Nicola Spurrier, urged South Australians to keep using the QR system every time they went out.

Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier and Premier Steven Marshall. Picture: Brenton Edwards

“The most important (contact tracing) tool we have in SA is our QR readers and I encourage everyone to use them every time they enter a shop, business or venue where the QR code is present,’’ Prof Spurrier said.

“Scanning at venues is very important because if a case is identified, our contact-tracing team can quickly identify and contact people who have visited an exposure site.

“Otherwise this process can take days.”

Prof Spurrier said it did not matter if patrons checked in using the QR system on the way in or out of shops or other venues, as long as they did it at some point in their visit.

She urged people to use the smartphone app-based system because of problems for contact tracers reading the handwriting of people who left their details on paper lists in shops.

“A paper record template is available as a back-up for people who don’t have a smartphone or in case of other technical difficulties,” Prof Spurrier said.

“But please remember that it can be difficult to read people’s handwriting and it will also take our team much longer to access these records, so check-in using a QR code is much preferable.”

The QR code system retains details for 28 days for each place a person visits.

Information is released to SA Health for contract-tracing purposes only.

People who refuse to provide shops or venues with their details, either by QR code or on paper, may be refused entry or face fines of up to $1060.

In February, it became mandatory for adults to check in when entering schools and preschools.