Download the app to save lives and help us all return to normal

I HAVE downloaded the Covid Safe application and I am recommending that my patients do the same.

The quickest way back to a normal life for our community is to track down every case of COVID-19 in the community as quickly as possible and put in place isolation protocols and this app is designed to do exactly that.

We have had no new case reports of COVID-19 in the Townsville region for some time now but this does not mean we can return to our normal lives as there are likely to be hidden cases in the community still.

Add to this the risk every time a new person comes to town.

The Covid Safe app works by using Bluetooth to look for other users of the app nearby. Once it has found someone close by who is using the app it records the contact on your phone and details such as how long you spent with them.

The settings are designed to look for people who have spent more than 15 minutes within 1.5 metres of your phone.

Importantly it does not use geolocation to track your movements or where you met the person and we know that Facebook and Google already track far more data than this.

If a user of the app is later found to be positive for COVID-19 they will be invited to share their data to a health official with appropriate security protocols in place.

This way Queensland

Health will be able to contact each of the app users who had been in proximity and warn them that they may be at risk.

The user would be advised to contact their GP or the Public Health Unit and either get tested if they have symptoms or self-isolate.

I respect concerns about privacy and that people have a healthy scepticism of a government controlling health data but these are extraordinary times.

If using the app allows the identification of a case of COVID-19 and their contacts in the community more rapidly then it will save lives.