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Frustration over CovidCard as Sam Morgan disbands team

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 1 Sep 2020, 6:15PM
Sam Morgan pitched a "Ko" branded CovidCard as a solution for automated mass-tracing. Anonymised, encrypted data would be downloaded by a health professional if a wearer was diagnosed.
Sam Morgan pitched a "Ko" branded CovidCard as a solution for automated mass-tracing. Anonymised, encrypted data would be downloaded by a health professional if a wearer was diagnosed.

Frustration over CovidCard as Sam Morgan disbands team

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 1 Sep 2020, 6:15PM

A Rotorua trial of the CovidCard will continue, despite friction with its creator.

Entrepreneur Sam Morgan has disbanded the team that designed the tracing technology, and oversaw a successful trial at Nelson Hospital.

He says there's no commitment from the Health Ministry, and it has an unachievable goal of completing the design phase at the end of this month.

Digital Services Minister Kris Faafoi says he found Morgan very good to deal with.

"I know he can get frustrated because we haven't made a decision to commit to it yet, but it is a hundreds of millions of dollars decision to make, and taxpayers probably deserve to know that, if we're going to roll it out, it's  going to work."

He says they are committed to making sure that we have a trial, and that's what they are doing. 

Animation Research CEO Ian Taylor is sharing Morgan's frustration.

Taylor told Heather du Plessis-Allan says Morgan's abilities should be utilised alongside the medical experts we consult about Covid-19.

"We need to be listening to people who can make things happen fast in this technology area, address the problem, and what Sam's doing was looking at a solution that no one in the world had come up with." 

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