Use both QR codes and Bluetooth

Using both the QR code and Bluetooth features of the Covid Tracer app provides the best chance of preventing the spread of Covid-19, health officials say.

The app’s new Bluetooth function is thought to be one of several factors contributing to a significant decrease in the number of Kiwis scanning QR codes as many people seemingly mistake it for a replacement way of contact tracing rather than an additional tool. Some elderly and low-income households are also unable to access the app without an up-to-date smartphone and are pleading for an alternative solution as some businesses have ditched paper sign-in sheets.

New figures show daily use of the Covid Tracer app is down to a fifth of its peak, and the Ministry of Health is keen to promote the message that both the app’s QR code scanning and Bluetooth tracking features should be used together. This would offer the best chance of preventing community transmission of Covid-19.

Scanning QR codes creates a private record of places a person has been, while Bluetooth tracing creates an anonymous record of the people they have been near, a Ministry of Health spokesperson said.

Both were valuable for contact tracing, they said. Bluetooth tracing was not intended to replace the Covid Tracer QR codes. ‘‘We encourage people to scan, scan, scan using the app as well as enabling Bluetooth on their phone and within the app.

‘‘We can’t afford to get complacent – we have seen that despite our robust border controls the virus can emerge anywhere in the community at any time.’’

The Bluetooth tracing function records how close other phones were to yours at any given time or place and for how long.

The phones you come into contact with need to have Bluetooth tracing turned on as well.

When someone tests positive for Covid19 and your phone recognises you could be at risk of exposure, you will receive an alert and instructions on how to keep safe.

You still need to scan QR codes to keep track of where you have been.

The latest version of the Government’s Covid Tracing app requires a smartphone with at least Android 6 or IOS 11 installed.

There is also a downloadable Covid tracer booklet for those who cannot use the app. It can be sent to your door or downloaded and printed out.

The Covid Tracer app’s Bluetooth feature cannot share your location, name or anything else about you.

To turn it on, update the Covid Tracer app and it will ask you if you would like to enable Bluetooth tracing.

Once you have turned it on, it will work even when your app is closed and does not use your mobile data.