Coronavirus: we’ll end up ahead of NSW, says Daniel Andrews

Victorian Premier Daniel And­rews says his state will end up ‘well ahead’ of NSW in integrating a QR code check-in system with contact tracing software.

Children get close to Melbourne Zoo orangutan Malu on Thursday, as families made the most of eased lockdown restrictions. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Victorian Premier Daniel And­rews says his state will end up “well ahead” of NSW in integrating a QR code check-in system with contact tracing software, ­despite being unable to say when the program will be up and running more than a month after NSW and the ACT introduced their schemes.

NSW and the ACT have had quick response code technology up and running since last month, allowing users to scan their contact details using a smartphone app as they visit venues such as shops, restaurants and gyms.

Despite having had weeks to prepare ahead of retail and hospit­ality businesses reopening on Wednesday for the first time in 16 weeks, Mr Andrews was unable to say when Victoria’s system would be fully operational.

Businesses can easily download their own QR code systems from a plethora of products available online, or use pen and paper, but neither method has been integ­rated with the state Department of Health and Human Services­’­ new contact tracing IT system developed by software company Salesforce.

“I think it’s really important that we get this right, and there are a number of different issues here,” Mr Andrews said on Thursday. “There’s privacy, the security of the data that’s captured, and then there’s also making sure that we have perfect compatibility ­between the front door to the system­, the QR code system, and the database that we have built.”

ictorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Victorians have cited privacy concerns about Mr Andrews encouraging­ businesses to use pen and paper in the interim, with people’s names, addresses and phone numbers able to be seen by staff and other customers.

The Premier refused to be drawn on when Victoria would have a QR code system up and running, saying only: “I’ll make some announcements soon.”

Asked why Victoria was taking so much longer than other states, despite having had a lockdown during which to prepare, Mr And­rews said: “Well if there’s some implied criticism in the question then I don’t accept that. You’ve got to get this right and getting it right is not quite as simple as just taking something off the shelf.”

He noted positive comments from Chief Scientist Alan Finkel at Senate estimates hearings on Wednesday about “enormous improvements” in Victoria’s contact tracing system. “When you’ve got the best-in-class IT system — and that’s not my judgment, it’s a judgment from people like Alan Finkel … it’s not quite as simple as taking something from another state or taking something off the shelf,” he said.

“ You’ve got to get it right and this process, I think … if you were to compare the two pathways, I think we will finish up with a universal QR product … well ahead of the equivalent point on the NSW journey, for instance.”

Victoria recorded three new coronavirus cases on Thursday, including one in a child associated with the Goodstart Early Learning childcare centre in Bundoora, in Melbourne’s north. The case was linked to a cluster of 42 cases in Melbourne’s north, 23 of which remained active on Thursday.

The other two cases are being investigated to establish whether they are genuinely new, or the results of old infections which no longer pose a risk to public health.

As of Thursday, Victoria had 76 active cases of coronavirus.