[LINK] COVIDfail – the Australian coronavirus tracing app that can’t find anyone

[Tom Worthington]

On 14/7/20 9:34 am, Karl Auer wrote:

> It cost a lot of money that could have been far better spent on other
> things. ...

The COVIDSafe App only cost a tiny fraction of the billions spent on 
COVID-19. The app was oversold, but at least it appears to have done no 
direct harm, unlike some other measures.

But an App which works well and does not infringe privacy would be 
useful. This might be done in conjunction with Apple and Google. This 
could be branded "COVIDSafe 2.0", to save the government the 
embarrassment of admitting failure.

> The program is yet another IT debacle ...

What worries me is that Australia has got used to implementing pandemic 
measures in a relatively benign environment and on the assumption these 
will be short term. Governments need to help the public maintain public 
health measures as routine, for years, and possibly under much more 
difficult conditions.

Consider controlling the pandemic at the same time there are widespread 
bush-fires, floods, or cyclones, or if the ADF is committed overseas in 
its primary mission of defending the country, or with cyber attacks 
interrupting power, water, health and food supplies, or while 
misinformation campaigns cause civil unrest, or all of these at the same 
time.


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Tom Worthington, MEd FHEA FACS CP IP3P http://www.tomw.net.au 
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Honorary Lecturer, Computer Science, Australian National University 
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