Health officials find little use for govt Covid app

Health officials say they have so far used the government’s LeaveHomeSafe contact-tracing app fewer than 20 times since it was launched in November last year, and it hasn’t led to the discovery of any Covid-19 infections.

The government says from February 18, restaurants can allow people to dine-in in the evenings again and various businesses shuttered due to the pandemic can re-open, as long as they make customers use the app or register their personal details.

But Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said at her coronavirus briefing on Thursday that not everyone who has downloaded the app uses it regularly.

“We always ask if the patients used the app. If they did, we’ll get the data from their apps about where they have been at what time. The app would notify other users if they have been to the same places at the same time. We’ve done this less than 20 times,” she said.

“Many people who have installed the app on their mobile phones didn’t use it.”

The government has dismissed privacy concerns regarding the app which currently requires users to scan a QR code when they enter a building or premises to record their visit. Officials have previously said that the app will eventually start recording people’s whereabouts automatically.

Meanwhile, the city’s coronavirus situation remained stable on Thursday as the centre reported 21 new infections, 17 of which were locally acquired.

Two of the new cases were linked to a Covid outbreak at a public housing block in Tai Po where a couple of residents living on the same floor came down with the virus.

Officials were unable to trace the source of seven infections, while more than 10 other people tested preliminary positive for the virus.