Check in CBR changes announced by ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith

Health Minister Rachel Stephen Smith has announced sweeping changes to the Check In CBR requirements.

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen Smith has announced sweeping changes to Check in CBR requirements.

From February 11 at 11.59pm Canberrans will only be required to check in with the app for the following “high-risk” settings:

• Licensed bars and pubs
• Registered clubs
• Nightclubs
• Strip clubs and brothels
• Organised events that are not ticketed or pre-registered, including conferences, markets, music and cultural events
• Schools and early childhood education and care.

From midnight Friday other businesses are no longer required to display their QR codes.

However ACT Health still encourages Canberrans to use the Check In CBR system voluntarily if they want to keep a record of where they have been.

Sweeping changes to Check In CBR requirements will be in place from Friday midnight. Picture: ACT Government.

Ms Stephen-Smith said the changes reflects the changing nature of Covid-19 and government’s response to the pandemic.

“We’re in a new phase of our pandemic response and using the Check In CBR app differently will support those most at risk of exposure to Covid-19 while reducing the requirements placed on other businesses, venues and customers,” she said.

“These changes mean we’re still able to monitor places where our public health team considers there is a higher risk of Covid-19 transmission.

The Minister also said the app would be updated to enable automatic notifications of users if they have attended a high-risk setting during a Covid-19 exposure.

“While this technical work is still underway, we expect to have this feature ready in the next couple of weeks.” she said.

“With the automated exposure notification function, Check In CBR will continue to be a critical tool in our efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19.

The Check In CBR app was released in September 2020.

According to ACT Health the app has been downloaded over 1.3 million times and has been used for 111 million check-ins.

More to come.