Making it mandatory to use the Covid tracing app would push more people to scan QR codes, says digital tracking expert Andrew Chen.
Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
Next week, Cabinet will discuss whether to make it compulsory for the public to scan QR codes on their mobile phones when they enter business and public places.
Chen said mandatory scanning posed a few problems, but it was still a good idea.
Covid-19: Pros and Cons of mandatory tracing
"An unenforced mandate like we've seen with face masks may be better than nothing," Chen said.
"Just by putting it into ... law does carry more weight than just the Minister of Health or Ashley Bloomfield saying 'please sign in'."
The Employers and Manufacturers Association has said mandatory scanning would mean added costs for businesses.
Chen said businesses should not be left struggling to deal with customers who refused to scan in, but businesses could encourage it rather than trying to enforce any new scanning rules.
The government would need to negotiate with technology companies about rules that prevent the mandatory use of apps using Bluetooth tracing, Chen said.
"It comes down to how the government talks to Apple and Google about this. They don't want to be seen to be preventing the government from managing Covid-19 either."
Similar conversations had been occurring overseas but little was known about the outcome, because talks were held behind closed doors, he said.
Another problem with making scanning compulsory was that 20 percent of adults in New Zealand either did not have a mobile phone or struggled to use one.
Chen said QR codes were more often used in countries that had mandatory scanning, but New Zealanders were becoming complacent.
"Less than 10 percent of adults are scanning in - that's really not going to give us much confidence that the data is useful in the event of an outbreak."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the Sydney traveller who visited Wellington before testing positive for Covid-19 used the Covid Tracer app frequently. This helped identify the places of interest the public had been notified about.
While about 2600 people were at those places of interest, only 585 had used the Covid Tracer app, Ardern said.
This meant only about a third of potential contacts received an alert.
Ardern said compulsory scanning might be required because the use of the tracer app was low, while the risk of a Covid-19 outbreak was heightened because of more contagious strains and the travel bubble opening between Australia and New Zealand.
"New Zealand has gone from a peak of two million scans per day in the first half of September last year, to a low of 405,630 scans on June 7 this year, leaving us exposed in the event of cases in the community," she said.
"We acknowledge that there will be some inconvenience associated with the idea of mandatory scanning, but it's an inconvenience that pales compared to venues having to limit gatherings, physically distance people, or having to shut their doors altogether."