Pen and paper to remain the frontline for contact tracing in Victoria as state government vows to make its own QR code system
Victorian businesses will have to rely on pen and paper, or find their own tracing technology to keep customer records, as the government’s QR code system is still not ready for rollout.
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The state government has been unable to name a roll-out date for its digital tracing technology for businesses, leaving them to find their own or rely on pen and paper records.
Daniel Andrews has refused to use apps already developed and in use in New South Wales and the ACT, and instead said Victoria would make its own.
But it has meant thousands of businesses reopened this week without a government digital tracing system — using quick response or QR codes — to record customers’ details.
“We have to get this right and it is not quite as simple as taking something from another state or something off the shelf,” the Premier said on Thursday.
It comes after Mr Andrews claimed on Monday writing down numbers was adequate saying “often old fashioned ways are the best way”.
Medical Journal of Australia editor Professor Nick Talley said Victoria needed a QR code system to track diners and shoppers quickly. “I wish they had done it a little earlier,” he told Sydney radio station, 2GB, on Thursday.
Melbourne chef Guy Grossi will roll out a QR app called 1Breadcrumb in his eateries.
He said the government needed to act quickly.
“We have been closed down for nearly eight months, so it’s probably time to have that whole side of things sorted,” he said. “In other states they have got it right where the government has rolled it out.
“It should be now, we have had long enough … making our own is all good and fine but it needs to be done now.”
Other operators including Federation Square and St John Ambulance have opted to use a smartphone app called Wavin.
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Paul Guerra urged businesses “to adopt technology that enables them to keep customer records and, if the worst happens, help health officials contact customers quickly.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian raised concerns Victoria had not yet developed or opted for a universal app.
She said on Thursday it would play a part in her decision on whether to lift border restrictions.
It comes as Mr Andrews was quizzed on how and by who COVID rules, including social distancing and mask wearing, would be enforced.
He said it was “difficult to give … a blanket answer”, adding Victorians could dob in rule breakers on the hotline.
“They can either direct you to someone or they would deal with the details you provide them and the appropriate person will be dispatched,” he said.
“It may not be in person. It may be a phone call.
“A complaint about conduct at a hairdressers will be treated differently to a complaint about conduct at a meat works.”
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