On October 1, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the launch of a COVID-19 exposure notification mobile app that will serve as a crucial tool to supplement the effort to trace and contact individuals subject to a COVID exposure. The app, COVID Alert NY, notifies users of potential COVID-19 exposure while maintaining user privacy and security. The free mobile app – available to anyone 18 or older who lives, works, or attends college in New York – is available for download from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. COVID Alert NY is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Korean, Russian, and Haitian Creole.
The app uses Exposure Notification System technology developed by Google and Apple to strengthen contact tracing programs statewide. COVID Alert NY is completely anonymous and does not track or collect any location data or personal data from your phone. The Exposure Notification System uses Bluetooth Low Energy technology to detect when another phone with the same app is within six feet. Proximity is measured, but not geographic location.
After downloading the app, users must opt-in to receive “Exposure Notifications.” As individuals go about their day, the app will use Bluetooth to sense any “close contact” – other app users who are within six feet of you for more than 10 minutes. When the app senses a close contact, your phone will exchange a secure random code with the close contact’s phone. Of note, your location, name or personally identifiable data are never disclosed. If you test positive for COVID-19, a public health representative from the local health department will call as part of the state’s contact tracing program and ask if you are willing to anonymously notify your “close contacts” by uploading your app’s anonymous close contact codes. Each day, the app will compare your list of close contact codes to the list of codes associated with positive COVID-19 app users. If there’s a match, you will get an Exposure Alert, along with appropriate next steps to stay safe and prevent community spread like self-quarantining and getting tested. The COVID Alert app never reveals the identity of the COVID-19 positive individual.
The COVID Alert NY app will work in conjunction with similar apps in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, allowing New Yorkers to continue to receive exposure notifications when exposed to residents of those states. If a New York State resident travels to one of those states and is exposed to someone with COVID-19 who has an equivalent app, the resident will receive a notification.
COVID Alert NY provides users with the latest information about COVID-19 in the state, including publicly reported testing data. In addition, the app features a Health Log where users can anonymously record daily symptoms.
“New York State has led the nation in our pandemic response, and we are thrilled to augment our already robust contact tracing program with this innovative technology to keep New Yorkers safe and their privacy maintained. The COVID Alert NY technology complements the work of our contact tracing teams and will speed up the process by which New Yorkers are notified of potential exposure and provided with helpful resources on testing and social services from the State Department of Health. We urge all New Yorkers to take the simple steps to download the app today,” said New York Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker.
Visit ny.gov/covidalerts for more information about COVID Alert NY.
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