As you may be aware, The Australian Government has launched a new voluntary app, COVIDSafe, to help keep everyone in our communities safe from further spread of COVID-19, through early notification of any possible exposure.

At Whiddon, we welcome the new app and are encourage employees to download the new public health tool. The app uses technology to speed up the work health officials are already doing in identifying people who have been in close contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19. This is even more important in the context of aged care where caring and protecting our residents and clients is our number one priority.

The app is part of three key requirements for easing COVID-19 restrictions – test, trace and respond, and particularly helps with the trace and response elements. The technology helps to find close contacts of those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, so they can be quickly contacted. This will help slow spread of the virus and protect your family, friends and community from possible infection.

Downloading COVIDSafe is an additional step that we can all take, to help keep everyone in our communities safe. Once it is installed and running, the app uses Bluetooth to look for other phones that also have the app installed.
For those concerned about privacy issues, state and territory officials can only access the app information if someone tests positive and agrees to the information on their phone being uploaded. COVIDSafe only keeps contact information for 21 days, which covers the maximum incubation period and the time it takes for someone to be tested.

Downloading the app is easy and can be done via Apple App store or Google Play Store.

For further information from the Australian Government on COVIDSafe visit www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/covidsafe-app