Michigan is rolling out a phone app to notify people when they’ve possibly been exposed to COVID-19. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Bob Wheaton tells WSJM News MI COVID Alert is anonymous, no cost, and voluntary.
“People who download it can be notified if they’ve been in close contact, or technically if their phone has been in close contact, with somebody who reported testing positive for COVID-19,” Wheaton said. “So that would be if their phone was within six feet of someone for a period of 15 minutes or longer.”
Users can confidentially submit a positive test result into the app and alert others that they may have also been exposed to the virus. MI COVID Alert was piloted in Ingham County and at Michigan State University, and in the initial weeks of the pilot, more than 46,000 people downloaded the app. MI COVID Alert uses phone codes and Bluetooth to make the notifications. If it determines you were exposed, you get a push notification.
