documents for release 12 Feb.pdf

Health Report
Update on CovidCard Trials
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Date due to MO:  8 October 2020
Action required by:
N/A
Security level:
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Health Report number:  20201814
To:
Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister of Health
Hon Kris Faafoi, Minister for Government Digital Services

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Contact for telephone discussion
Name
Position
Telephone
Official
Shayne Hunter
Deputy Director-General, Data and Digital,  s 9(2)(a)

Ministry of Health
the
Ann-Marie Cavanagh
Deputy Chief Executive, Digital Public
s 9(2)(a)

Service Branch, Department of Internal
Affairs

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Action for Private Secretaries
Return the signed report to the Ministry of Health.

Date dispatched to MO:

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HR20201814

Update on CovidCard Trials
Purpose of report
This report responds to a request on 22 September 2020 from Hon Kris Faafoi, Minister for
Government Digital Services, and Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister of Health, for ongoing fortnightly
updates on the CovidCard trial, including timeframes for key milestones, deliverables and reporting
back to Cabinet. This is the first such report.
A timeline showing key events is in the attached Appendix.
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Summary
Progress to date
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•  The trial co-design process between the University of Otago, Te Arawa and the University of
Waikato is now complete.
•  The privacy risk assessment has been successfully completed, and ongoing engagement with
the Office of the Privacy Commissioner is positive.
•  Ethics approval for the trial protocol was received on 2 October 2020.
•  The market research aspect of the programme was successfully completed and a report
delivered to officials on 2 October 2020. The programme will now take this into the analysis
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phase, with a view to determining actionable outcomes. This work will also be assessed
alongside the community trials.
•  s 9(2)(f)(iv)

Current Issues
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•  The blank CovidCards, firmware and software (which collectively make up the platform) were
received from Virscient on 22 September 2020.
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•  The Defence Technology Agency (DTA) tested the platform between 22 September and 29
September, to ensure that a working version of the platform was available for the community
trial, as expected.
•  s 9(2)(b)(ii)

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•  s 9(2)(b)(ii)


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s 9(2)(b)(ii)

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•  Though all aspects of the trial are ready to go, officials cannot engage with the community
until we can confirm the actual trial date. To do this, officials need confirmation that we have a
working platform. This is a significant trust issue with Te Arawa and the community.
•  Once the trial date is confirmed, community engagement will be a two-week process,
followed by the on-the-ground trial. This time includes engagement with community leaders,
iwi, Rotorua District Council, and other key stakeholders. A period of at least four days is
required for specific engagement with the trial community.
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•  Due to the additional delays with the technology, and following close consultation with Te
Arawa and other key stakeholders, the earliest possible timing to carry out the community
trial in Rotorua is now likely to be 27 October, a further delay of two weeks, but officials are
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trying to accelerate this as much as possible.
•  An interim report, based on technical trials, market research and focus group interviews, will
still be available for the Ministers of Health and for Government Digital Services by the end of
October. This will not include analysis of the community trial, which will be included in the
final report back in late November.
•  At this stage, there is no flow-on impact on the timing of the final report back to Cabinet,
which is now scheduled for the end of November (noting that timing may be subject to
change post-election). However, there will be a cost impact. This is currently being assessed.
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Possible timing for decision on start date of on-the-ground trial
•  The community trials consist of several streams of work.  As noted in the points above on the
progress to date, these aspects are well underway, and many have been delivered.
•  The start date of the trial can be determined as early as next week, dependent on a decision
on the platform provider. The options are Virscient or another provider.
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•  s 9(2)(b)(ii)

the
•  Officials have been working with another platform provider. The testing of this other platform
is currently underway by DTA. Officials will know by Tuesday 13 October, at the latest, if there
is a fully functional card which can be used for community trials.
•
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  Therefore, it is possible a decision could be confirmed at that point on the start date for the
on-the-ground aspect of the trial. This could mean not proceeding with the CovidCard
provided by the Public Private Partnership (PPP).

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Health Report: 20201814
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Appendix C: Communications plan for the next phase of work on the
CovidCard
Purpose
1.  This document provides a draft press release and talking points for the government’s
possible announcement on the trial ing of the Bluetooth enabled CovidCard contact
tracing technology.
Background
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2.  Cabinet wil  decide on Monday 3 August whether to go ahead with a field trial of the
Bluetooth enabled CovidCard contact tracing technology.
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Points to note
3.  The proposed use of CovidCard within New Zealand has received significant media
commentary in recent weeks. This commentary has covered a broad range of views
and opinions on both its effectiveness and alignment with New Zealand values.
4.  Therefore, any announcement is likely to generate considerable public and media
interest as to the nature, intent and location of the trial.
5.  Given the global impact of COVID-19 and New Zealand’s position as a leading nation in
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the response to it there is also likely to be strong international interest.
6.  The content of the media release wil  need to be amended depending on whether the
location of the trial can be announced.  This will be dependent on early engagement by
the Caring for Communities workstream lead within DPMC ahead of an announcement
on Thursday 6 August. Early engagement gives community leaders a heads up on
Government’s intention to undertake the field trial in Rotorua.
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7.  This is important to the success of the trial because through the community leaders
leadership they can enable public uptake and participation in the trial between the
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Government and the region.
8.  It will be important that any communications for the trial of the CovidCard or other
contact tracing solutions is linked to wider efforts to eliminate COVID-19.
Suggested approach
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9.  Given the anticipated high levels of interest in the announcement officials advise
making the public announcement of the trial on Thursday 6 August following
community consultation.
10.  This announcement could be made by Minister/s onsite or via press release,
potential y with the support of community representatives.
11.  Alternatively, the announcement could be made directly following cabinet on Monday
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3 August. This option would require the Caring for Communities workstream to
attempt to contact community leaders over the weekend to ensure they are briefed
prior to any public statement on the location. This would need to happen before
Cabinet has considered the next phase of work on the CovidCard, including the field
trial.

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•  And so we will be carrying out further work to see how the card for New Zealand,
including additional trials and research until the end of October
•  This research will allow us to understand how the cards would work in a real-world
scenario, if they are compatible with our contact tracing system, and if the public would
accept and use the cards if they were rol ed out
•  It is planned that a decision whether to deploy the Card will be made later this year, at
this stage, we do not anticipate the card would be mandatory
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•  The key consideration on the deployment CovidCard or another technical solution, wil
be if it meets high security and privacy standards, and can be used by a wide range of
New Zealanders while effectively contribute to contact tracing and New Zealand’s efforts
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to eliminate COVID-19
•  An announcement on the location of the trial will be made following community
consultation
If location can be announced
•  After consultation with community leaders and iwi the trial area has been selected as
Rotorua region
•  It will involve around 250 to 300 people and will help us determine how the card
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performs in community settings with real life scenarios
•  This testing wil  help us assess how this type of concept could be deployed on a national
scale to support our contact tracing system

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About the Card and the previous Nelson Trial
•  Security and privacy are key criteria for any technology we consider
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•  The card won’t store any location data or track users. It blindly records the length and
distance of its interaction with other cards up to 5 metres away
•  Information will only be accessed if – and only if – the card user is a close contact of a
confirmed COVID-19 case and contact tracing is required
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•  We have already conducted a small technical trial of the CovidCard solution
•  Earlier this year, during level 4 lockdown, the University of Otago tested the CovidCard
technology in conjunction with the Nelson Marlborough DHB
•  The trial has helped us understand how this type of technology could be deployed to
support our contact tracing system.  We wil  now test this on a larger scale
Draft press release
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Government confirm CovidCard trial to go ahead

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The Government has confirmed it will continue to explore options for COVID-19 contact
tracing, with a trial of the CovidCard technology announced today.
“Effective contact tracing is a vital part of the COVID-19 response, Minister Government
Digital Service Kris Faafoi said. “While manual processes remain the critical component for
contact tracing, we know digital solutions have a key role to play.
We know this is important from a public health perspective and also in supporting our
economic and social recovery.”
“We have always been clear that the tracing system will include a range of methods, to make 1982
sure we are getting the best information we can, as quickly as we can,” Health Minister Chris
Hipkins said.
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“It’s fair to say that one simple and effective technology solution to improve contact tracing
has not been identified around the world, that’s why we are continuing to improve the NZ
Covid tracer app, as well as carrying out a trial of the google and Android based Bluetooth
services and investigating a CovidCard.”
Initial assessments of the technology by the University of Otago highlighted that the card
could add to New Zealand’s current approach.
“The government funded a trial run by the University of Otago in conjunction with the
Nelson Marlborough DHB over lockdown.  We’ve now reviewed that information, along with
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other reports, and believe there is merit in exploring it further,” Kris Faafoi said.
“This research wil  al ow us to understand how the cards would work in a real-world
scenario, if they are compatible with our contact tracing system, and if the public would
accept and use the cards if they were rol ed out.”
Any decision on whether to deploy the Card wil  be made later this year. At this stage it is
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not anticipated that the card would be mandatory.
“Key to any deployment of CovidCard or another technical solution, will be if it meets high
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security and privacy standards, and can be used by a wide range of New Zealanders,” said
Chris Hipkins. “We’ll also be testing if it effectively contributes to contact tracing and New
Zealand’s efforts to eliminate COVID-19.”
If location can be mentioned.
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After consultation with community leaders and iwi the trial area has been selected as
Rotorua region. It wil  involve around 250 to 300 people and wil  help determine how the
card performs in community settings with real life scenarios.
“We’ve spoken with community members and are grateful to have their support,” said Chris
Hipkins. “This testing wil  help us assess how this type of technology could be deployed to
support all New Zealanders.”
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