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New Zealanders are enjoying the summer sun, but they aren’t scanning everywhere.
On Monday, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the government’s use of the Covid Tracer app had been “regrettable” so far during the holiday period.
“Unfortunately, the use of the Covid Tracker app over the summer has been dismal. So I would tell New Zealanders that there is a reason we are asking you to keep doing this. It’s to make sure that if we need to get in touch with tracking, we can quickly remove any Covid-19 that gets here, “he said.
“If we’re talking about a virus potentially that could be accelerating in the rate at which it can spread, that’s where contact tracing and rapid contact tracing become absolutely essential. So scan the QR codes. “
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ALDEN WILLIAMS / Stuff
A QR code at the entrance to Merivale Mall. (File photo)
As of Sunday, there were 50 active cases in New Zealand and none in the community.
On Sunday, the Health Ministry announced that there were 16 new cases of Covid-19 over the Christmas period, including a flight support crew member who arrived in New Zealand from France.
Of the new cases, 15 were new arrivals and were in the managed isolation and quarantine facility, and one was a historical community case from May that had just been confirmed.
According to the ministry, the NZ Covid Tracer app has 2,420,400 registered users and poster scans have reached 144,622,903. Application users have also created 5,829,315 manual journal entries.
ALDEN WILLIAMS / Stuff
New Zealanders are being told to improve their game when it comes to checking in places while away from home this summer. (File photo)
During the summer break, the ministry reminded people to stay safe and to use the Covid Tracer app to scan QR codes and activate Bluetooth functionality.
“This will allow you to receive an alert if you have been around another user of the application testing positive for Covid-19,” the ministry said in a statement Sunday.
