Michigan COVID-19 App Downloaded Nearly Half A Million Times

MICHIGAN — MI COVID Alert, a new app that shares test results in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, has reached nearly 500,000 downloads in a month after being launched, the state said Thursday.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget said there have been 461,192 downloads of the app as of Thursday. The state also rolled out a second option for users to receive the PIN required to anonymously share a positive COVID-19 test result.

“So much about fighting COVID is hard, but this is easy: Please download MI COVID Alert on your phone,” Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon said. “It protects your privacy, and it will help protect us all. If we hit even a million downloads by January 2021, we’ll be safer until a vaccine is available to the broader population.”

Read More: New App Will Alert People Possibly Exposed To Coronavirus

Even when just 15 percent of a population used an exposure notification app like MI COVID Alert, researchers from Oxford University found a potential to reduce infections and deaths, the state said previously.

Already, nearly 9 percent of Michigan residents ages 18 to 64 have downloaded MI COVID Alert, according to health officials.

When a person tests positive for COVID-19, they are eligible to receive a randomly generated PIN. This PIN allows people to share test results anonymously in MI COVID Alert.

Don't miss important updates from health and government officials on the impact of the coronavirus in Michigan. Sign up for Patch's daily newsletters and email alerts.

After a positive test result is entered into the app, close contacts – people who have been within six feet for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period – will receive an anonymous push notification letting them know they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and the number of days since the possible exposure took place.

No personally identifiable information is required or shared with other users, officials reiterated Thursday. With the total number of COVID-19 cases and people exposed to the virus recently, some COVID-positive residents may not receive a call from their local health department right away.