The government's contact tracing QR code for the LeaveHomeSafe COVID-19 mobile app is displayed in a restaurant in Hong Kong, Nov 2, 2021. (KIN CHEUNG / AP)

HONG KONG – The Hong Kong government said that a technical glitch with an updated version of the LeaveHomeSafe app has been fixed promptly and no personal data of users has been leaked.

In a written reply to lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen’s queries at the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Secretary for Innovation and Technology Alfred Sit Wing-hang said the incident affected some Android and Huawei users when the app version 3.2.4 was released at 4 pm on May 10 and the glitch was fixed around four hours later.

In response to the incident, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has issued a warning letter to the service contractor, requesting it to strengthen the supervision, said Secretary for Innovation and Technology Alfred Sit Wing-hang

For some users, their vaccination and recovery records as well as exemption codes stored in the app were deleted after they updated to the app's 3.2.4 version. The problem has since been rectified with another update released at around 8 pm on May 10.

READ MORE: Vaccine pass: HK residents urged to update 'LeaveHomeSafe' app

The government has said that the technical error was caused by the lack of internal testing by service contractor and officials.  

In response to the incident, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has issued a warning letter to the service contractor, requesting it to strengthen the supervision, Sit said.

“The service contractor has pledged that it will immediately increase manpower for testing the app, strengthen the review and approval process, and the internal control for ensuring the quality of app updates and avoiding the recurrence of similar incidents,” he added.

He said government staff of the OGCIO and the service contractor will jointly conduct testing in the future to ensure that the updated version of the app functions properly before releasing it for download by the public.

He stressed that the incident did not involve any leakage of personal data of members of the public.

The government launched the LeaveHomeSafe app in November 2020 for contact tracing in light of the pandemic situation at that time. Members of the public receive exposure alerts through the app and reminders to undergo testing so as to reduce the risk of further spreading the virus in the community.

Currently, the LeaveHomeSafe mobile app has recorded over 8 million downloads, with more than 130,000 public and private venues supporting its use

As the government implemented the Vaccine Pass since the beginning of this year, updates have been made to the app to make it easier for people to prove their COVID-19 vaccination or exemption status when entering different premises.

Currently, the LeaveHomeSafe mobile app has recorded over 8 million downloads, according to Sit. More than 130,000 public and private venues across the territory have participated in the scheme to display the LeaveHomeSafe venue QR codes.

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On Tuesday, the third phase of Vaccine Pass arrangement took effect, requiring residents aged 12 and above to have received three COVID-19 shots or got their second jab within six months to enter most premises.

The new measure affects 23 types of places, including restaurants, bars, cinemas, gyms and beauty parlors.

Some 3.9 million people in Hong Kong have received their third dose as of Tuesday, account for 57.9 percent of the eligible population, official data showed.

Support for recovered patients

Meanwhile, the city's health chief said a number of measures have been in place to support recovered COVID-19 patients and those who suffer from long COVID-19.
In a separate reply to queries by lawmaker Alice Mak Mei-kuen, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said at the Legislative Council on Wednesday that more than 30,500 recovered patients have joined the special Chinese medicine out-patient program since its launch in April 2020. 

Each eligible patients could receive 10 free-of-charge sessions of consultation and more than 93,900 consultations have been conducted so far, she said.

The service was expanded to recovered residents of care homes since February this year. As of May 30, more than 240 care homes have joined the program with over 10,300 sessions of consultation conducted, Chan added.

Various units under the Social Welfare Department has also been providing assistance for people who need emotional support or financial assistance after recovery based on the specific circumstances of the cases, she said.