Queensland hospitality businesses have reported a fall in tracing costs since the rollout of the State Government’s check-in mobile application in February 2021.
According to the Queensland Government, since launching, more than 22,390 businesses that have made the switch to the state-government led app have seen costs fall with the discontinued use of independent tracing platforms.
The government also stated the recent lockdowns in greater Brisbane were kept short due to hospitality businesses widely embracing the app. As a result of its success, it was announced last month the app will be compulsory for hospitality businesses from May 1, 2021.
Minister for Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch said: “It’s great to see such strong support for the app from Queenslanders and the business community, and it is still the number one free app in Australia on both Google and Apple, which is incredible.
“Businesses are also now reporting to us that they are changing over from other forms of QR codes, including web-based platforms, which is saving them money, time and energy.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk added: “Since going live in February more than 22,390 businesses have embraced it and got firmly behind this effort to keep Queenslanders safe.
“It has already proven a game changer. Queensland Health contact tracers used it to immediately identify any close or casual contacts during the recent COVID-19 clusters.
“While the response has been great, I remind those hospitality businesses that haven’t already signed up to do so now. From May 1 it will be compulsory for all involved in this sector to be using the QLD Check In app.
“Now is not the time to delay. The more general businesses participating, the better off all Queenslanders will be, and we can be even more confident in Queensland Health’s access to information to do contact tracing.”
As of last Friday, Queenslanders have scanned the app more than 10 million times which Enoch believes is essential for the continued safety of hospitality staff and consumers.
She said: “This is a safe and simple way for customers and staff to record their contact details and support businesses to comply with public health directions, keeping everyone safe. It is easy for businesses to use once they are setup, businesses don’t need to do anything other than check that their customers are logged in.”
Hospitality businesses can register at the Queensland Government website.