ACT Leader David Seymour has welcomed the Government’s decision to trial Datamine’s ëlarm with border workers.

“We’ve been urging the Government to adopt ëlarm for 314 days now,” says Mr Seymour.

“It shouldn’t have taken ten months for the Government to take the idea seriously. It needs to be much more aggressive at trying new technologies.

“This decision is a small step towards a COVID-19 response that is more open to working with the private sector and more willing to augment its response with better technology.

“Datamine, based in the Epsom electorate, has so far had more luck with private companies offshore than the Ministry of Health.

“I have personally used the app. It monitors a person’s heart rate and reports any signs that they may have taken on a virus. The app could be critical in building New Zealand’s collective defence against the epidemic.

“Epidemiologist Michael Baker has described such technologies as the ‘future of healthcare’.

“One of the core principles of ACT’s August and March COVID-19 policies was faster tech uptake by government.

“As we move to a post-vaccine, COVID 2.0 world, the Government will have to get much better and talking to the private sector and faster at augmenting its response with better technology.”

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