In a first for Australia, the Victoria Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will use the Whispir platform to regularly interact with Victorians who have been in close contact with someone who has contracted COVID-19 or meet the criteria for self-isolation, as part of its COVID-19 containment plan.
DHHS will use the communications workflow platform to send secure interactive two-way messages and real-time updates to sufferers and those who have been in the close contact with someone with COVID-19. These real-time and data-driven communications will provide DHHS with a greater insight into the daily health of those who have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 or should be in self-isolation.
Recipients will be required to respond to the communication issued by the DHHS ‘contact tracing’ team by answering a series of questions, including recent activities, health and whether they are abiding to quarantine procedures.
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.
Whispir CEO Jeromy Wells said the Melbourne-headquartered Whispir provides DHHS with the flexibility to rapidly update and send secure messages to sufferers that are two-way to allow for feedback.
“The immediate benefits of this new service to the community will be substantial. Our platform provides the means for Victorians to effectively engage with DHHS and promptly report important changes to their health. 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.
Whispir has 20 years’ crisis communications experience with local and international emergency providers, government departments and enterprise organisations using the platform to communicate in a crisis or address issues management.
“Our platform was utilised by several states during the recent bushfires and we look forward to assisting the Victorian Government in keeping Victorians who may have been infected with COVID-19 informed during this pandemic.
“While the Victorian DHHS is the first Australian health authority to utilise our platform state-wide for its COVID-19 communications with sufferers, we have the ability to scale this service nationally for all Australians with the virus.”