Thousands of Canberrans were unable to use the ACT government's coronavirus contact-tracing app this week after a bug in the system left more than 1500 venues without a manual code check-in.
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The Check In CBR application was updated on Wednesday, but officials were alerted to problems on Thursday morning.
Users were left with a blank screen and a "finding location, please wait" message when they attempted to check in at venues across the city.
The government has made the app mandatory at all retail and food outlets across Canberra, as well as public transport and taxis.
It is yet to be tested as a contact-tracing tool given the capital has not had a community-transmitted COVID-19 case in more than 12 months.
There are about 16,500 venues registered to use the check-in app and the government has reported high compliance even after adding it to buses and supermarkets in recent weeks.
"The Check In CBR app is updated regularly to improve its functionality," a government spokeswoman said.
"On the evening of July 21, ACT Health released a new version of the app to enhance the functionality.
"During the morning of July 22 an issue was identified that affected a small number of venues for users who don't scan QR codes and choose to use the manual six digit number to check in.
"Out of 16,500 venues, this affected only users who check in using manual codes across 1600 venues.
"QR code scanning continued to work for all locations. The issue was fixed on the afternoon of July 22."
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The government says contact tracing will help ACT Health work to control any outbreak of cases in Canberra and avoid outbreaks similar to the cases in NSW.
States and territories use different contact-tracing tools, with the Victorian health department set to hand its findings to police after NSW removalists triggered an outbreak in Victoria.
The removalists were not wearing masks, in a breach of the conditions of their worker permits, when they made stops at Craigieburn and Maribyrnong on July 8 before travelling to South Australia.
Residents of the Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong caught COVID-19 from the removalists, two of whom later tested positive, and unknowingly spread it into the community.
Based on a briefing on Friday morning, the Victorian Premier confirmed the Department of Health's compliance team was close to finalising their investigation and forwarding it on to police.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
