SA Police Commissioner: ‘Use the QR Codes on Every Occasion’

South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens at the press conference at the Stag Hotel in Adelaide, Australia, on Dec. 1, 2020. Kelly Barnes/Getty Images

Despite COVID-19 restrictions easing across South Australia as cases continue to decline, South Australia’s police commissioner has warned against complacency in the fight against CCP virus, urging people not to skip checking in at venues with QR codes.

Commissioner Grant Stevens said he had received substantial feedback from police suggesting people were coming into venues without scanning the code.

“In South Australia, things are almost normal, and that carries some risk, and that makes people less vigilant,” Stevens told radio FiveAA on Jan. 20.

He said checking in is not a condition of entry into a business, but there is an obligation “to check in at some point whilst they’re visiting that business”.

The government has said that the data is stored in a government database and used where an outbreak occurs. Police will not have access to the data and that information gathered will be deleted in 28 days.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall demonstrates checking in via QR code to help with contact tracing at the Stag Hotel in Adelaide, Australia on December 01, 2020. Kelly Barnes/Getty Images

Since QR codes began on Dec. 14, 2020, police have issued 1,070 fines and 2,168 cautions to individuals and businesses such as for not following QR codes requirements, COVIDSafe plans, or marshal requirements.

Stevens also reminded South Australia that gyms and hospitality venues such as pubs, clubs, restaurants, and cafes need a COVID-19 Safe Hygiene Marshal as part of their safety plan.

“It is important to remind the community and business owners that they are required to actively use the QR codes on every occasion,” Stevens said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Compliance officers routinely check the square meterage of business venues, and in some cases have found the measurements documented on their COVID Safe Plans to be inflated thereby increasing the capacity of customers allowed in”.

South Australia reported one new COVID-19 case on Wednesday, in a man in his 30s who recently returned from overseas. He is one of six active infections in the state, all in hotel quarantine.