Victoria ramps up COVID-19 contact tracing using Whispir

Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services is expanding its dedicated contact tracing services to fight the spread of coronavirus using messaging platform Whispir.

The department will begin using the cloud-based platform from Thursday to regularly interact with those that have come into close contact with someone who has contracted COVID-19.

The platform, which will automate interactions between the department and select individuals, will also be used to enforce self-isolation for Victorians who have confirmed cases of the virus.

It is expected to provide DHHS with “a greater insight into the daily health of those in self-isolation or who have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19”.

“This will enable DHHS to quickly confirm if the individual is complying with the mandatory 14- day self-isolation period for close contacts of COVID-19, experiencing any symptoms associated with COVID-19 or has been tested for the virus,” Wispir said.

“Recipients will be required to respond to the communications issued by the DHHS ‘contact tracing’ team by answering a series of questions,including recent activities, health and quarantine status.”

In an ASX announcement, Whispir CEO Jeromy Wells said the expanded contact tracing and self-isolation enforcement service would be immediately beneficial to the community.

“Our platform provides the means for Victorians to effectively engage with DHHS and promptly report important changes to their health,” he said.

“This provides DHHS with more accurate data, enabling them to quickly make more informed decisions about the optimisation of services for the broader benefit of the community.”

“While the Victorian DHHS is the first Australian health authority to utilise our platform state-wide for its COVID-19 communications we have the ability to scale this service nationally for all Australians.”

Whispir’s share price surged on the announcement, climbing more than 30 percent to 0.98, at the time of publication.

Victoria currently has the second largest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 466 infections.