NSW had implemented a 14-day quarantine policy for returning overseas travellers. They were required to quarantine in various hotels across Sydney. In March 2020, returning travellers were being counted at locations such as Sydney Airport and quarantine hotel entrances. Previously, they were registered using a handwritten record or a stand-alone spreadsheet upon arrival at their hotel to commence quarantine. This required maintenance of paper records at the airport, Police Operations Centre, and in over 20 hotels across Sydney. This was time consuming, untenable and posed serious accuracy risk.
NSW Police Force (NSWPF) launched a new People Management System to efficiently manage people in hotel quarantine system. This new digital service has made it easier for passengers to check in to the nominated quarantine hotels and manage the quarantine lifecycle of passengers in a more effective manner. The digital system has significantly improved public safety by helping frontline NSW Police Officers better manage the quarantine process and reducing the possibility of virus spreading across NSW. It has also increased officer safety by reducing interaction with returned passengers.
Furthermore, has been leading NSWPF the COVID-19 Border Crossing Operations with the assistance of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and other NSW emergency services agencies. Due to this, the People Management System was enhanced again at great speed to manage border crossings. This included reading QR codes on Service NSW issued border permits presented to NSWPF and ADF personnel at border checkpoints on NSWPF smartphones called MobiPols.
This new digital service has contributed to NSW Police Forces’ vision of ‘a safer NSW’. To date, over 45,000 returned overseas travellers have been managed via the system. At different points-in-time, more than 6000 people have been managed simultaneously within the system. At border crossings the volume of permits scanned has peaked at almost 40,000 per day, ensuring citizens that transit borders particularly with Victoria and the ACT are valid and are in compliance with the permit issued. This has also reduced countless hours of time and effort needed to manage the data, and provide reporting to partner agencies and government on COVID-19 operations.
It’s exciting to know that the system is simple and easy to use. It provides NSW Police Force with real time analytics and interactive dashboards to drive data driven decision making for COVID-19 response, such as deciding hotel destination for incoming travellers.