Despite the 300K downloads, more participation is needed to improve the COVID-19 exposure application

The application is designed to warn users if they are in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, but officials say more users are needed to increase its effectiveness.

“The more people who bring their phones into the fight against COVID the better it will go, and at 10-15%, we’re already starting to see pretty pronounced impacts on slowing down, according to research and other organizations,” said Minnesota IT Commissioner Tarek Doms.

Fear that the government might monitor a user’s every move is one of the biggest obstacles to getting more people to download the app, Doms says – not true.

“Its data privacy is absolutely important to us,” he said. “No information has been transferred to the state. Identity information has not been provided to Google or Apple. Location information has not been provided to anyone.”

The application works when individuals who are complete strangers come into close contact with each other, each of whom then reports a positive COVID-19 test. Anyone who has been in close contact with that person for 15 minutes or more will receive notice of possible exposure.

Doms says he has received similar warnings about the exposure of more than 1,200 minasotons to the corona virus.

Click here Learn how to download the COVIDaware app.