AFTA backs government’s coronavirus tracing app

Portrait of young woman using laptop at cafe wearing  face protective mask to prevent infectious diseases

The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) has thrown its support behind the federal government’s new COVIDSafe app.

The app, which uses Bluetooth signals to identify people who have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19, was rolled out on Sunday and has been downloaded more than two million times.

Its aim is to speed up the current manual process of finding people who may have been exposed to the virus.

The government has said it is not mandatory to download the app, but it could play a big role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and may lead to a faster way for the country to get back on track.

According to AFTA, if the app is successful and is accepted widely, Australia may be able to return to normal life more quickly, including the return of travel.

“While we do understand it is a personal choice to download the app, AFTA supports the government via this measure if its application brings forward the date of travel restrictions being lifted,” CEO Jayson Westbury said.

“What we all want for Australians is the return to normal life and what we want for the travel industry is for people to have the freedom to travel, and it seems to us that this app may be a step in the right direction to achieve both of these outcomes, as such we support the downloading of this app.”

AFTA said it hopes the travel industry will get behind the app and suggested travel agents could recommend it to clients in any COVID-19 updates they provide.

You can read more about the app here.

Featured image credit: iStock.com/filadendron

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