New App Will Alert Michiganders Of Exposure To Coronavirus

MICHIGAN — Michigan health officials and the state's department of technology on Monday announced that Michigan is rolling out a new app that will notify users of potential exposures to the coronavirus.

MI COVID Alert is an anonymous, free and voluntary app piloted in Ingham County and on Michigan State University. The app lets users know whether they may have recently been exposed to COVID-19. Users can confidentially submit a positive test result into the app and alert others in recent proximity that they may have also been exposed to the virus, according to a news release.

“COVID cases and deaths are now rising fast,” MDHHS Director Robert Gordon said. “Using MI COVID Alert on your cell phone is a simple, safe step that everyone can take to protect themselves and their loved ones. It’s free, it’s easy, and it protects your privacy.”

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.

Michigan has recently been inundated with an uptick in new COVID-19 cases. The state on Monday reported that over 9,000 cases had been reported since Saturday. Michigan also reported 50 outbreaks of the coronavirus had been reported in schools across the state.

The state cited research from Oxford University, which it said found a potential to reduce infections and deaths, even if just 15 percent of a population uses an exposure notification app like MI COVID Alert.

In the initial weeks of the MSU-Ingham County pilot alone, 46,704 people downloaded the app. The number is the equivalent of approximately 23 percent of Ingham County residents ages 18- to 64-years-old and nearly 16 percent of the total Ingham County population.

“This app has the potential to provide the kind of early exposure notification that is critical to preventing the spread of the virus,” Michigan State University Executive Vice President for Health Sciences, Dr. Norman J. Beauchamp Jr. said. “In addition to wearing a mask, social distancing and getting tested, downloading the app is one of the most important steps we can take to help keep our communities safe.”

When a person tests positive for COVID-19, they receive a randomly generated PIN from the local health department or State of Michigan case investigators that allows them to share their test results anonymously on the app. MI COVID Alert uses randomly generated phone codes and low energy Bluetooth technology instead of GPS location to protect privacy while looking back in time to determine close contact with other phones that have the app. If someone was in close contact with another person who submitted a positive COVID-19 test result, the close contact will receive a push notification once the positive test result is entered into the system.

A notification means the app user was possibly within six feet for at least 15 minutes of someone who tested positive. Michigan worked with Apple and Google to make MI COVID Alert compatible with similar apps in other states. The app works in conjunction with traditional contact tracing, mask-wearing, hand washing and social distancing, but is not a replacement for these precautions or participation in contact tracing.

The exposure notification feature included in recent iOS and Android operating system updates only works with a companion app like MI COVID Alert. The app is available in the Apple and Google app stores.