NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Is the Covid Tracer app the 'gold standard'? No, experts say, but use it anyway

Amelia Wade
By Amelia Wade
Political reporter·NZ Herald·
15 Jul, 2020 05:00 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

There are two new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today. Both cases are in managed isolation and tested positive on day three of their stay.

As the Prime Minister prepares the country for possible regional Covid-19 outbreaks, the Government's slow development of high-tech contact tracing aids is drawing criticism.

More than $2.6 million has been spent on the NZ Covid Tracer app but each person who's downloaded the app has only used it twice on average.

Ministers yesterday signalled it could soon be mandatory for businesses to display QR codes and that money will be spent on promoting wider uptake of the app.

READ MORE:
• Covid 19 coronavirus: Ashley Bloomfield's update - two new cases from Pakistan, Dublin
• Covid-19 coronavirus: Fresh outbreak could lead to local lockdowns - Jacinda Ardern
• Covid 19 coronavirus: One new case today - a woman in her 60s who travelled from Pakistan
• Covid 19 coronavirus: Experts say Australian suppression attempt was a mistake

Jacinda Ardern yesterday announced the Covid-19 response framework, which would move different regions up alert levels if there was an outbreak.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A vital part of that plan was rapidly tracing close contacts and Ardern implored every New Zealander to download and use the Government's app.

"We've created a system that works - now we're asking people to use it," Ardern said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has outlined a Covid-19 response which would see a regional approach to an outbreak. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has outlined a Covid-19 response which would see a regional approach to an outbreak. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Since stepping into the Health Minister role two weeks ago, Chris Hipkins has spoken almost daily about how important the app is and has urged people to use it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But daily poster scans have remained minimal at about 10,000 a day. That equates 0.2 per cent of the population, based on the generous assumption each scan is one person using the app.

And on average, each of the 596,000 people who've downloaded the app have used it 2.3 times.

Hipkins said yesterday this wasn't good enough. A soon-to-be released update will make the app compatible with more smartphones and include an option for people to manually add where they've been.

"We've got the framework there for a gold standard contact tracing system, but it is reliant on all of us playing our role."

Discover more

New Zealand|politics

Two new Covid cases today - from Pakistan, Dublin

15 Jul 01:57 AM
New Zealand

Research to find new Covid test and light technology to combat virus

15 Jul 04:47 AM
New Zealand|politics

'Australia has a real problem': Collins says transtasman bubble not safe

15 Jul 04:25 AM
World

Expert predicts when the world will be Covid-free

15 Jul 06:09 AM

Director general of health Ashley Bloomfield said the app was "an adjunct" to the contact tracing system, which will be scaled up by the end of next month to make 20,000 phone calls per day.

Bloomfield said even just downloading the app would mean the Health Ministry would have up-to-date contact details, which would greatly help tracing efforts.

He also outlined new testing criteria, which should ensure people with respiratory symptoms who at higher risk of complications from Covid-19 are tested.

It's hoped broadening the advice would return daily testing numbers to about 4000 a day after a significant drop-off in the past fortnight.

"It's very important New Zealanders don't become complacent about the threat of Covid-19. We need to keep testing people in the community," Bloomfield said.

Public health expert Nick Wilson, a professor at Otago University, has countered Ardern's claim the app is "a good system".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"How can they imagine it's a good system if no one's using it - it makes no sense."

Digital contact tracing expert Andrew Chen didn't agree the system was "gold standard".

"But I certainly agree more people need to use it. They need to promote it.

"I don't think people are going to use it more just because Bloomfield says we should at the 1pm presser."

Wilson urged the Government to consider other alternatives and favours the South Korean strategy, which tracks people through their spending and mobile data and can trace contacts within hours.

Wilson said it would require a legislative change to privacy laws, but called it "irresponsible" for it not to be looked at.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"All sensible options used in democracies should be explored.

"It's just intellectual laziness if the government doesn't explain seriously why the South Korea approach is being ignored."

The Government yesterday couldn't confirm whether the system was one of the options it was looking into but Ardern said they were keeping "a very open mind" about solutions.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins hasn't ruled out extra funding to promote the Covid Tracer app as the Government pushes uptake. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Health Minister Chris Hipkins hasn't ruled out extra funding to promote the Covid Tracer app as the Government pushes uptake. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Ardern said the bluetooth-enabled CovidTracer Card was still being trialled and officials were considering a wearable "dongle".

Rob Fyfe, who led a public and private working group during the peak of the Covid-19 crisis, has been working on a wearable device to track people's movements.

He told TVNZ's Q&A the device didn't store personal information, just a number, and would be able to tell which other devices it had come into close proximity to.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ardern referred questions about what the Government was considering to Minister of Government Digital Services Kris Faafoi. His office declined an interview yesterday and said "there isn't a lot more to say at this point".

Act leader David Seymour called on the Government to be more transparent about what it was considering and should invite the private tech sector to come up with ideas.

"We're not fighting a war here - you don't need to do everything in secret. We've got all these tech people in New Zealand who'd love to help," Seymour said.

"Instead you've got a whole lot of frustrated and able people who aren't being brought into the conversation. Just look at Rob Fyfe."

The growing pressure on improving uptake came as Ardern launched the framework for what New Zealanders could expect if there was community transmission.

It's based on three scenarios that would determine the level of response.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Although the border measures were effective, she said "no system is 100 per cent effective".

Despite yesterday marking 75 days since the last case of community transmission - another two cases were caught in managed isolation facilities - Ardern said it was important to prepare for a community outbreak.

The framework could move some regions up alert levels to contain an outbreak so a lockdown of the entire country could be avoided.

Suburbs, cities or regionscould shut down with roadblocks but it would be managed based on health advice.

Ardern said "no one wants to go backwards but the reality is our fight against the virus is not over and we must have a plan at the ready to protect our current position if it comes back".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Flights delayed at Auckland Airport as intense rain batters city, sparking surface flooding

09 May 05:38 AM
Crime

Avondale man accused of murdering partner loses name suppression

09 May 05:38 AM
New Zealand

First stage of Tarawera sewerage scheme complete

09 May 05:17 AM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Flights delayed at Auckland Airport as intense rain batters city, sparking surface flooding

Flights delayed at Auckland Airport as intense rain batters city, sparking surface flooding

09 May 05:38 AM

Motorists are being warned to expect hazardous driving conditions.

Avondale man accused of murdering partner loses name suppression

Avondale man accused of murdering partner loses name suppression

09 May 05:38 AM
First stage of Tarawera sewerage scheme complete

First stage of Tarawera sewerage scheme complete

09 May 05:17 AM
'Held together by wire': Mechanic's quick-fix on broken fire truck labelled 'Kiwi ingenuity'

'Held together by wire': Mechanic's quick-fix on broken fire truck labelled 'Kiwi ingenuity'

09 May 05:06 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP