In some places 40% of us may have downloaded COVIDSafe. Here's why the government should share what it knows
- Written by Robert Slonim, Professor of Economics, University of Sydney
It’s 18 days since the government launched its digital contact-tracing app COVIDSafe. The latest figure we have for downloads is 5.4 million, on May 8, about 29% of smartphone users aged 14 and over.
My own mini-survey suggests that in Sydney and Melbourne the takeup could already be 40% – a figure the government has mentioned as a target – while in other places it is much lower.
Oddly, it’s information the government isn’t sharing with us.
Total number of COVIDSafe app users (millions)
Authors: Robert Slonim, Professor of Economics, University of Sydney