The Illawarra Business Chamber is calling on the community to start downloading the government's coronavirus tracing app as soon as possible.
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Executive director Adam Zarth said the chamber was making the call to help small businesses in the Illawarra reopen sooner.
Mr Zarth said it was important the economy start moving again and get back the 1250 jobs lost in the region to COVID-19 since February. He said widespread community uptake of the new app will be key to achieving such a result locally.
The chamber is also proposing a panel of eminent Australians be established to remove some of the concerns over the proposed tracing app and ensure any personal information is appropriately handled and disposed of when the pandemic is over.
Contact-tracing phone apps use data from people's phones to allow health authorities to trace people who had been in close contact with confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The Australian Government's goal is for 40 per cent of the population to voluntarily use its app, which will allow it ease general social-distancing measures.
"Getting our way of life back - from businesses reopening to visiting cafes, kids sport on the weekend and family gatherings - these things can only happen again if we can stop the spread of this pandemic," Mr Zarth said.
"I gather there is some reticence from individuals in the community to download the app, even though the Federal Government has been very clear about how and when the information will be used.
"We are proposing that the Federal Government create a panel of eminent Australians charged with the responsibility of being the custodians of the data.
"The panel could include names from the political, business and cultural sectors that have the admiration and respect of their fellow citizens.
"Anecdotally, a large number of businesspeople from across the region have told me they'll be downloading the app as soon as it is available and will encourage all of their employees to do the same."
Read more:
- As many as 12,500 jobs lost in Illawarra as a result of COVID-19
- Guess who is back? Chicko's Wollongong and Figtree reopen quietly at 10am on Monday
- Illawarra businesses fight hard to survive COVID-19 as confidence falls dramatically
- Illawarra Business Chamber launches new video series with helpful advice on how to survive COVID-19
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