Covid 19 coronavirus: Government considers making tracer app mandatory 16 Feb, 2021 02:07 AM 3 minutes to read Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she was only informed about the new Covid community cases about 90 minutes before the public was told. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she was only informed about the new Covid community cases about 90 minutes before the public was told. RNZ By Katie Scotcher of RNZ The Government is actively considering mandating the use of the Covid-19 tracer app, in a bid to boost the number of people scanning. There are more than two million people registered for the app, but in January the average number of scans per day fell to 465,000.