Overview
Among the many strategies in place to help combat the spread of COVID-19, tracking and tracing the contacts of confirmed cases ranks alongside hand hygiene and social distancing as one of the most important. As a result, Queensland hospitality venues have been asked to keep a record of their patrons over the past year, all to assist with contract-tracing efforts. By now, you well and truly know the drill, because we've all spent months checking in via QR codes whenever we head out for a meal, drink or movie.
From Saturday, May 1, the current system is changing. You'll still need to check in by scanning a QR code — that requirement isn't going anywhere anytime soon — but you'll need to do so via the Queensland Government's check-in app. It's becoming mandatory for hospitality venues, which means Queenslanders will need to have it on their phones to register their details upon arriving at restaurants, bars, pubs, cafes and other businesses in the industry.
Called Check In Qld and available to download via Google Play and Apple's App Store, the app was launched back in February. Accordingly, you might've already been to a venue that's using it, and you could already be using it yourself. But it's only now becoming compulsory for hospitality venues, rather than using other electronic methods to collect customer information such as online forms, membership card scanners, online booking systems and a digital spreadsheet.
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The app collects your full name, phone number and email address, as well as the date and time that you're visiting a venue. It then stores that information for 56 days for contact-tracing purposes. If you don't want to use it, or you don't have a phone, you'll need to speak with venue staff upon arrival — as they're still required to record your details. Folks with the app can check in other people, too, so you can get your friends and family to do just that if you're with them but don't have the app yourself.
When the compulsory use of the app for hospitality businesses was announced at the end of March — during Brisbane's most recent lockdown — Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said that the decision stemmed from the links between a number of recent cases and hospitality venues. "We've seen dozens of restaurants and cafes added to our list of COVID-19 contact tracing locations, including as locations for close contacts," she said.
For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the Queensland COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website. Further details about the Check In Qld app can be found on the state's COVID-19 hub as well.