Aims: To assess how well the NZ COVID Tracer QR (Quick Response) code poster is displayed by Dunedin businesses and other venues in which groups of people gather indoors, and to calculate the proportions of visitors to those venues who scan the QR code poster.
Methods: We randomly selected 10 cafes, 10 restaurants, 10 bars, five churches, and five supermarkets and visited them at their busiest times. We evaluated the display of QR code posters using a six-item assessment tool that was based on guidance provided to businesses and services by the Ministry of Health, and we counted the number of people who entered each venue during a one-hour period and the number who scanned the QR code poster.
Results: All six criteria for displaying QR code posters were met at half of the hospitality venues, four of five churches, and all supermarkets. Scanning proportions were low at all venues (median 10.2%), and at 12 (30%) no visitors scanned; eight of these venues were bars.
Conclusion: This audit provides a snapshot of the display and scanning of QR code posters in a city with no managed isolation and quarantine facilities and where no COVID-19 cases have been detected for 10 months.