Dr. Rachel Levine released an opinion editorial on the Department of Health's website today urging people to download the COVID Alert PA mobile app. In the letter, Levine says the app uses "Bluetooth technology to notify you of a potential COVID-19 exposure." She explains that the technology does not track or collect information on the user's location or personal data, but rather examines how close the phone was to other phones that have the app installed.
Levine writes that COVID Alert PA is "strictly designed to notify you if you may have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the virus." She says people who are diagnosed with Covid-19 can choose to confirm the information with the app, which will then inform those who may had close contact with the infected person. She says the app is useful since people can have difficulty keeping track of every person they had contact with, even if it was for only 15 minutes.
The app works alongside the Department of Health and the case investigators who set out to record who the person infected with Covid-19 had contact with. Levine says the more people who download the mobile app, the better the State's chances are of preventing an outbreak. She also continues to ask people to wear masks and practice social distancing in order to mitigate the spread of the virus.
The Department of Health says COVID Alert PA will be available later this month through the Apple App Store or Google Play.
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