Isolating Victorians to trial new quarantine app with ‘selfie’ feature

Victorians in quarantine at home will be asked to take ‘a selfie’ to prove they’re following isolation requirements as part of a new trial.

The state government says it could later be rolled out for interstate and international travellers.

Under the trial, those who have been asked to isolate due to possible COVID-19 exposure will have five minutes to respond to a text alert.

The app, which can be downloaded to a smartphone, sends people random alerts asking them to check-in by taking a picture of themselves.

Location technology is then used to confirm their identity and their location.

Authorised officers would follow up with those who don’t respond to the request with home visits.

The government said the information would be secure and deleted 28 days after the person had completed their home quarantine.