1 NEWS can reveal just how widely the official NZ Covid Tracer app is being used.
While the Ministry of Health doesn’t release details of where people have checked in, due to privacy concerns, the sheer number of scans of QR codes is recorded, albeit anonymously.
Since the app’s launch, each registered user has checked in on average just over one time.
The latest available figures requested from the Ministry of Health show that as of May 29, nine days after the app’s formal launch, users had scanned official NZ Covid Tracer QR codes 480,000 times.
More than 450,000 people have downloaded the app since launching but there are concerns there aren't many places for people to actually use it.
However, on that same date, there were 446,000 accounts formally registered with the app.
In a statement, a Ministry of Health spokesperson told 1 NEWS the “NZ Covid Tracer is not intended to replace existing contact tracing processes, which are led by our Public Health Units and the National Close Contact Service”.
“We continue to encourage as many people as possible to download and use the app – it will help us identify, trace, test and isolate any cases of Covid-19.”
The Ministry of Health says use is growing.
On Saturday alone, NZ Covid Tracer users scanned around 50,000 official QR codes.
However, many who’ve downloaded the app have said it’s difficult to use, as few businesses are actually using the Government’s system.
It’s not the only issue since the app’s launch.
Last week, 1 NEWS revealed that just 10,000 of the eligible 800,000 businesses have adopted the Government's NZ Covid Tracer app.
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