Coronavirus: Just one coronavirus case in 116 tracked down by app

Victorian authorities have struggled to trace the spread of the ­recent outbreak of coronavirus by using the COVIDSafe app.

Queensland’s Chief Health Offic­er Jeannette Young has revealed that Victorian authorities have struggled to trace the spread of the ­recent outbreak of coronavirus by using the COVIDSafe app.

She said her Victorian colleagues had told her that only one of 116 cases identified over the past week had been successfully traced through the app.

Dr Young also warned that Victoria was “in strife” because more than half the people with the virus had contracted it through ­community transmission. “It has been unfortunate Australians have chosen not to download the COVIDSafe app,” she told a parliamentary committee hearing.

She said only 6.3 million of the 16 million Australians who have a smartphone had downloaded the app.

Scott Morrison has urged ­Australians to download the app, saying it was essential to ensuring outbreaks could be controlled.

Dr Young said that since the pandemic began it had been discovered that people with the virus were most infectious in the 24 hours before they showed symptoms.

She said she was concerned about the recent Victorian outbreak, saying most of the new virus cases were acquired through communi­ty transmission.

Dr Young said that if a state had more than 50 per cent of new cases ­acquired locally, “then you’re in strife”.

“Victoria is the risk now for the rest of the country,” she said.

Dr Young said Queensland had been able to lift restrictions on travel and public gatherings ­because the state had had “quite a period without cases, so we were in a good position to remove those restrictions”.

“Victoria never got down to that same level,” she said.

“They still had active cases, quite significant numbers of active cases, which made it quite difficult for them as they were removing those restrictions because then they had ongoing numbers of cases and clusters.”

She said that Victoria had record­ed a large spike in community transmission.

“We were, as a group at Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, always thought that tipping point would be really concerning when more than 50 per cent of new cases are acquired locally­ in your own community, you’re in strife.”

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said the outbreak in Victoria could go “either of two ways”. “This could be the beginning of another wave and that of course would be very concerning,” he said. “Or if the Victorian health authorities are successful, and I really­ hope they are, that they could suppress these outbreaks (and) return­ back to a state of ­suppression.”