Pandemic App 'doesn't Need Mass Downloads To Work'

The minister overseeing a new app intended to fight the pandemic says the app will help even without a huge number of downloads as he insisted the administration had no target for how many people would use it.

Secretary for Innovation and Technology Alfred Sit stressed that using the "Leave Home Safe" app is completely voluntary and said that even if only a single user downloaded it, that person would benefit.

The "Leave Home Safe" app, which goes live on Android and iOS platforms on Monday, allows users to record their whereabouts and notifies them if they have visited a place which is subsequently linked to a Covid-19 infection.

Users can scan a QR code as they enter a venue that has joined the government's initiative and then tap a button on the app as they leave to record the time of their stay.

Over 18,000 taxis across the city will also be covered, with users inputting the car's licence plate number.

Speaking after attending a radio programme on Saturday, Sit said: "We don't set any target, because it's a voluntary arrangement."

Sit said that, unlike similar apps in other countries, the SAR's version would not need a minimum number of users to be effective and that the SAR government does not have any system to control or store user data.

Meanwhile, an adviser to the government epidemic control measures on Covid-19 said the SAR may be entering its fourth wave of coronavirus cases after recording 14 local infections with no clear source this week.

Speaking on the same radio programme, Professor David Hui from the Chinese University pointed to the fact that at least four taxi drivers tested positive this week alone, with no clear link between them.

And if more drivers test positive for the virus and the uptake of free government tests remains low, he said officials should consider making testing mandatory among the taxi drivers.

Taxi groups said this week that only 30 to 40 percent of drivers were taking voluntary tests.