New COVID-19 App Alerts You If You Come in Contact the Virus
The rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic that have been set in New Jersey thus far have been tough....but fair.
The hope is that we are finally done with the worst and now, our government is offering up various tools to make sure we all remain safe and healthy.
One of those tools is one I hope you download the second you are done reading this article.
This app will track where you have been for how long and it will send you an alert if you have potentially been exposed to the coronavirus.
But here is the catch: this app will only be truly affective if everyone downloads it.
That is because, "the app will notify users when they have been within six feet for at least 10 minutes of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and WHO ALSO HAS THE APP."
So in theory, you could be close to someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus but may not know if they do not also have the COVID Alert NJ app downloaded themselves.
This app is free, anonymous, secure and will use Bluetooth technology to contact trace instead of using a smartphone user's personal date.
It can be downloaded by anyone who is at least 18 years old and works, lives or attends college in the Garden State.
And New Jersey is not the only state launching programs just like this one.
According to NJ.com, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Connecticut have launched their own versions and all of the apps will be able to work together by, "using the same technology to supplement contact tracing programs and help fight the spread of the virus."
“Over the course of our public health emergency, we’ve called for a shared sense of personal responsibility to support our contact tracing efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Murphy said in a statement. “With the launch of COVID Alert NJ and our regional app network, New Jerseyans and residents in our neighboring states can support our fight against COVID-19 simply by downloading an application on their phone."
So yes, downloading this app is voluntary but I am not really seeing a downside to adding this application to your phone.
As if 2:15 PM on Thursday, October 1st, over 15,000 New Jersey residents had downloaded this new app.
And it is about to be 15,001 because you know I will be the next to download.
For more information on this new COVID-19 tool, head to NJ.com.