Six million Australians have downloaded a mobile phone app that helps health authorities trace coronavirus infections
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CANBERRA, Australia —
Six million Australians have downloaded a mobile phone app that helps health authorities trace coronavirus infections, officials said Sunday.
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Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the COVIDSafe app is playing a strong role in Australia’s response to the pandemic and several countries have expressed interest in learning from its positive impacts.
If a user is diagnosed, the app works to identify other users who have been in close proximity for 15 minutes or more in the previous three weeks.
The government has said at least 40% of Australia’s 26 million people need to use the app for it to be effective. There are approximately 17 million mobile phones in Australia.
The government and states have been easing restrictions on travel and increased use of restaurants and bars in the past few weeks. Australia has recorded more than 7,100 cases of COVID-19, with 102 deaths.
In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:
— 3 NEW CASES IN CHINA: China on Sunday reported three new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, two from outside the country and one locally transmitted in the northeastern province of Jilin that has experienced a minor outbreak now apparently largely contained. No new deaths were reported and 79 people remain in treatment, with another 380 under isolation and monitoring for being suspected cases or having tested positive for COVID-19 without showing any symptoms. China has reported a total of 4,634 COVID-19 deaths out of 82,974 cases.
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