Apps warning of exposure to the new coronavirus are being launched in three more states. Alabama, North Dakota and Wyoming are the latest states in the U.S. to warn users about potential exposure to COVID-19 by tracking their meetings via an app on their phone, according to a Reuters report.
Virginia was the first state to implement the app developed by Apple and Google, the outlet reported.
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North Dakota launched its app, Care19 Alert, on Thursday, and Wyoming will release one Friday. Both apps were developed by ProudCrowd, which was announced during an online event on pandemic technology hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-affiliated Responsible Data Foundation, Reuters explained.
Meanwhile, Alabama plans to launch its app, GuideSafe, on Monday after testing among some college staff and students, Sue Feldman, director of graduate programs in health informatics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told the news release.
The apps are similar to those in Virginia. According to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) website, Virginia residents use an app called COVIDWISE. The app notifies the phone user if they are exposed to a person positive for the coronavirus that also has the app. This allows the notified user to seek self-quarantine and prompt medical attention, thus reducing the exposure of others to the virus, according to the Department of Health.
“The more Virginians who use COVIDWISE, the more likely you are to receive timely exposure notifications that lead to effective disease prevention,” per the Department of Health.
Several states rely on smartphone apps to warn users of COVID-19 exposure. (iStock)
The app works by exchanging Bluetooth signals with other app users the people encounter, follow-up date, duration and near exposure, the website explained. A positive test result submitted by an app user is checked on the list of other app users encountered in the last 14 days. If there is a match, COVIDWISE will inform an individual that they are exposed, while maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of the positive COVID patient.
The agency stated that no personal information is collected, stored or transferred to VDH.
“Each user decides whether or not he or she wishes to receive exposure notifications, and if a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, it is up to them whether they share their result through COVIDWISE or not,” the health department states.
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One of the challenges facing app developers, according to Reuters, is finding a way to get the various apps to communicate with each other, especially when a person is traveling from state to state. So far, North Dakota is the only state with an app that has that capability.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that this technology “can reduce the burden of manual contact removal, help identify contacts in a more timely manner, facilitate communication with contacts, and provide rapid isolation of contacts around the chain. interrupt transmission. “
The technology also helps alert the user in case they unknowingly come in contact with an infected person. However, there are some disadvantages, per the CDC, such as users having to have a phone at all times, and worries about security.
