Michigan health officials Thursday launched a smartphone app alerting Michiganders if they’ve come in contact with someone who has the coronavirus.
The state health department joined forces with Michigan State University to create MI COVID Alert, a downloadable app that is exclusively available in Lansing as part of the app’s pilot project. Officials hope to take the app statewide in the future.
“We can learn and refine it in a community that is excited about it before we take it statewide,” Robert Gordon, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director told The Detroit News. “The app has been designed to be very protective of privacy.”
The app works with the help of Michiganders who’ve been infected; Michiganders who’ve been diagnosed with COVID-19 will have a personalized PIN number where they can by which they can enter information discreetly. The app is voluntary.
“We really hope that people will download and use the app,” Gordon said. “It is free, easy and anonymous. If enough people download the app, it will become an important tool in slowing COVID.”
MI COVID Alert locates users with the help of Bluetooth technology. MI COVID Alert notifications appear if a person has been within six-feet of someone with COVID-19 for a minimum of 15 minutes. The infected person will have had to input their information first.
Gordon says Michiganders should continue to take safety precautions and protect themselves.
“[The app] is not a substitute for mask wearing or social distancing or hand washing,” Gordon said. “It’s an additional tool people can use to protect themselves, to get more information and to be able to more safely live their lives.”
New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, Arizona, Alabama and Rhode Island also have apps dedicated to preventing the spread of COVID-19.
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