Source: MakeLemonade.nz
Christchurch – New Zealand should make it mandatory to for all visitors to New Zealand to download a track and trace app when they arrive in the country and undergo a covid -19 infection test.
People say that New Zealand’s tracking and tracing capabilities for monitoring those under quarantine and those at risk of infection by community transmission are substantially outdated.
New Zealand’s aims of wiping out covid-19 can only be achieved if with an ongoing testing programme and real time track and tracing.
A track and trace app would be able to provide breadcrumb tracking of where a person went and the time they were in contact with an infected person or people.
It would be able to track and trace an individual nurse’s movements and advise nursing staff they are entering a covid-19 patient’s zone and record the time they were in contact with the patient.
The app would allow members of the public ,nurses and patients to send an emergency alert that they need help at the press of a button.
For women enduring domestic violence it would allow them to send silent alerts for help to their caregivers, family and friends or emergency services.
For aged care patients it would monitor their movements and their walk speed and alert caregivers, family and friends they had not moved from their bed in days.
All personal data would be encrypted using medical grade security technology ensuring that the end users’ privacy is not compromised.
The app platform already exists in New Zealand through Jupl technology ,which is a New Zealand tech company. Jupl, partnered by such companies as Spark, manufactures personal monitoring and tracking systems which are being used by thousands of people throughout Australasia and will shortly be launched in the USA.
Jupl co-founder Sir Ray Avery says he would be comfortable with a proven secure privately owned cloud-based medical grade technology platform than an open source mobile phone app managed by government or Google.
“The Jupl solution is right here right now and would future proof not only our covid -19 tracking and tracing requirements but protect our frontline medical staff and those at risk from family violence.”
To date there has been no transparency regarding the development and management of the government’s track and trace strategies or the decision-making process.
Without a national track and trace policy strategy, Kiwis will struggle to fully totally beat the covid-19 virus. No country can become an island nation which has eliminated covid -19 without ongoing monitoring of ourselves and our visitors.
For further information contact Make Lemonade editor-in-chief Kip Brook on 0275 030188
