Australia's health expert refuses to download Govt's COVID app, cites 'privacy concerns'

Australia's top adviser to the World Health Health Organisation (WHO) Mary-Louise McLaws has refused to download the government's CovidSafe app which tracks Coronavirus data around the installer citing 'privacy concerns'.

CovidSafe works by using Bluetooth connections around the installer to trace and track infected people who the user might come into close contact with, thereby arresting the spread of the virus. McLaws who is also the professor at the University of NSW said that until she knew more about where the data it collected was stored and secured, she would not install it.

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The issue of privacy with regards to CovidSafe came into the picture after it was revealed that the United States' delivery giant Amazon won the tender to store the app's data on its servers in America. McLaws stated that she felt that the security with respect to the custodian of the data could be breached under US laws.  

Since its launch last week, CovidSafe has been downloaded by four million Australians falling short of the 40 percent the government said it needed. While launching the app, Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that restarting the economy was as important as stopping the spread of the virus, thereby urging more people to download the app.

Australia has recorded 6,783 virus infections as per the latest figures, 93 of whom have died. Eight new cases were reported since Wednesday.

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