The MI COVID alert application will hit nearly half a million downloads in the first month

Marquette, Mitch. (WLUC) – A month after its statewide launch, the MI Covit Alert app has reached nearly 500,000 downloads.

Today the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMP) announced that there are 461,192 downloads MI COVID WARNING. The government has also created a second option for users to obtain the PIN required to anonymously share a positive COVID-19 test result.

“Fighting COVID is very difficult, but it’s easy: please download the MI COVID alert on your phone,” said Robert Gordon, MDHHS’s director. “It protects your privacy, and it helps protect all of us. If we hit even a million downloads by January 2021, we will be safe until a wider population gets a vaccine. ”

Only 15% of people, when using an expression notification app such as the MI COVID alert, Oxford University researchers Found to have the ability to reduce infections and deaths. Already, nearly 9% of Michigan residents between the ages of 18 and 64 have downloaded the MI COVID alert. When a person tests positive for COVID-19, they are eligible for a randomly generated PIN. This PIN allows test results to be shared anonymously in the MI COVID alert.

After a positive test result is entered in the application, close contacts – 15 minutes or more within six hours within 24 hours – will receive an anonymous push notification informing them that they may have been exposed to COVID. 19 and the number of days the potential exposure took place. No personally identifiable information is required or shared with other users. With a total of 19 cases of COVID-19 and recently infected with the virus, some COVID-positive residents should not receive a call right away from their local health department.

However, application users can now recover the pin in two more ways:

• Calling their local health department; Or,
• Contact the Michigan Govt-19 hotline on 2-1-1 or 888-535-6136 from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday.

Instead of using GPS, MI Covit Alert uses randomly generated phone codes and low-power Bluetooth technology to determine the proximity of phones with the app. The use of this technology protects the privacy of all users and prevents one from tracking one’s exact location. Michigan has partnered with Apple and Google to make MI COVID Alert compatible with similar applications in other states. The exposure notification feature included in the latest iOS and Android operating system updates only works with add-ons such as MI COVID Alert, which is available for iOS and Android phones by visiting the Apple and Google App Stores.

Or for more information about the app, go to MI COVID Alert Web Page. The application works in conjunction with traditional contact tracking, mask wearing, hand washing and social distance, but is not an alternative to these precautionary measures or participating in the communication trail. Those with COVID-19 should be tested and considered to be isolated for 14 days from the date of exposure. If a person is still asymptomatic by day 10, they may end the isolation prematurely. However, they should monitor the symptoms for four additional days.

Anyone in need of testing can visit COVID-19 website Find a test site near them. They can also contact the Michigan Govt-19 hotline to find and plan the meeting.

Other states, including Virginia, Arizona, New York, Alabama and New Jersey, have introduced similar exposure notification applications. Applications are in development in additional states.

Copyright 2020 WLUC. All rights reserved.