State Government expands COVID-19 contact tracing registers

More Western Australian businesses and venues will be required to maintain contact registers in a bid to further strengthen WA's contact tracing capabilities.

The expansion follows cases of the new, more infectious strains of COVID-19 entering WA's hotel quarantine system.

From February 12, retail venues including super markets, department stores, pharmacies and take away food services will be required by law to keep a contact register for the purpose of Department of Health COVID-19 tracing.

Businesses already using their own QR code for registration will also be required to clearly display the WA Government's SafeWA QR code. 

This is in addition to gyms, restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels already falling under the initial scheme when it was put in place as a precautionary measure on December 5, 2020. 

"We are in a fortunate position in WA, and it's important we support WA businesses to continue to operate in a COVID-safe way to keep our economy strong," Premier Mark McGowan said. 

"This means staying the course, following the health advice and keeping up with COVID-safe principles.

"When contact registers were implemented in WA in December last year, we said regular reviews would be undertaken and new measures would be introduced as needed.

"So far West Aussies have done an incredible job in adapting to those changes but we now need to strengthen them, especially in the face of the evolving nature of the virus overseas.

"While WA remains free of community transmission, we continue to learn from what's occurring over east and overseas. With variant strains becoming more prevalent, we need to bolster our processes in case contact tracing is required by our WA health and response teams."

More than 1 million WA residents have downloaded SafeWA, a free contact register app, which offers a secure and efficient way to check-in via a QR code.

Information obtained through this app goes directly to WA Heath, and is securely stored for 28 days, unless it is needed for contact tracing purposes. 

Failing to comply with these new requirement could result in penalties of up to $50,000 for an individual and $250,000 for a body corporate, or 12 months' imprisonment. 

Health Minister Roger Cook said as we have learnt from outbreaks in other jurisdictions, effective contact tracing is one of the best ways to control the spread of COVID-19.

"We all have a community responsibility to keep one another safe," he said. 

"Local authorities including health environment officers are able to enforce these laws, with penalties just like they so with food and safety regulations at businesses, however Western Australians are encouraged to do the right thing and apply for this measure as they would with other COVID-safe practices."

SafeWA can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and more information can be found at this link: https://www.wa.gov.au/SafeWA