Epidemiologists have said QR code check-ins and contact tracing are “pretty useless” in stemming COVID-19 rn but states should keep the infrastructure in place anyway.
Epidemiologist at the University of South Australia Adrian Esterman said with case numbers as high as Australia’s, no contract tracing system could stop the spread.
“When you start getting into the hundreds of cases and even worse, thousands of cases, there’s no contact tracing in the world that can manage … by the time that you get notified you’re a close contact, it’s probably a week late and you’ve already had the infection and you’ve recovered,” he told Guardian Australia.
“It is simply not needed unless we get down to sufficiently low case numbers that contact tracers can actually use the information. Until then, QR codes are pretty useless unless they are used for entry where they check your vaccine status.”
But he said they should remain commonplace in case of future outbreaks.
“If we say that people don’t bother to use QR codes, what happens when the next variant comes along and potentially it could be useful then?” he said.
Chair of epidemiology at Deakin University Catherine Bennett said they weren’t useless and still had a purpose, but the systems should be concentrated on fewer sites with higher risks.
“It’s not just about telling someone they might have been exposed to a case in a place where they probably had a very small chance of contracting the virus a week ago,” she said.
She said they are still useful for COVID-positive individuals to keep track of where they’ve been.
QR codes remain in a variety of settings in different states but the mandate has been rolled back in others.
In NSW QR code check-ins for all venues was scrapped in December and check-ins were only required in some high-risk settings like hospitals, aged care, funerals and weddings. The mandate was reinstated a week later as case numbers grew after Christmas.
On Tuesday NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced the government was extending mandatory QR code check-ins until February 28. QR code check-ins are required in most venues, including hospitality and retail.
“People feel confident checking in, and our job as government is to instil confidence in our people, in the circumstances where we have a highly vaccinated population, to go out to enjoy the best that NSW has to offer in a way where you keep yourself, your friends and your family safe,” he said.
NSW COVID-19 update – Friday 28 January 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 8pm last night:
– 95.4% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
– 93.9% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/KejGOgIicM— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 27, 2022
In Victoria, Premier Daniel Andrews conceded on Thursday there was “not very much contract tracing going on”.
“There might be some very limited circumstances where we would use that information for contact tracing,” he told reporters.
“When you’ve got as many cases as we’ve got and you’re up against a variant that’s as wildly infectious and as easily transmitted as Omicron, we’re well beyond outbreaks, we’re well beyond contact tracing.”
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday.
Our thoughts are with those in hospital, and the families of people who have lost their lives.
More data soon: https://t.co/OCCFTAtS1P#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/lTFTNOxjjV
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) January 27, 2022
He said as long as experts told the government QR codes “serve a purpose,” they would remain in place.
It’s a hassle yes, but at this point we’re all so used to it might be simpler to just stick to a routine while COVID-19 rages here and around the world. We’re not out of this yet.
