Pennsylvania launches voluntary coronavirus tracing app

Pennsylvania said Wednesday it is launching an app that alerts users if they’ve been near someone infected with the coronavirus, making it the latest state to bolster its coronavirus efforts with smartphones as the country struggles to regain its footing.

The state will provide people who test positive with a six-digit validation code for the COVID Alert PA app, allowing it to send a push notification to other users who’ve been in proximity within the last 14 days.

The app will be available for free in the Google Play or Apple App store by September.

Locating potential chains of transmission and breaking them up is critical to corralling the virus, which has killed over 172,000 people in the U.S. People with known exposure to other cases can get tested to see whether they also are infected and need to quarantine.

Dr. Rachel Levine, the state health secretary, said the app is designed to support, but not replace, traditional contact-tracing efforts being conducted by 1,200 trained tracers. The app is only helpful to people who download it and encounter other app users.

“By utilizing this technology, we can quickly notify more people who have been exposed to COVID-19. We hope when this app is available, Pennsylvanians will do the right thing and download, use it and continue to remain alert as we continue to fight this virus,” she said.

Apple partnered with Google in May to launch the Exposure Notifications System. Virginia was the first state to launch a statewide app using the Bluetooth technology from Apple and Google earlier this month, and Alabama followed earlier this week.

There has been some nationwide progress in fighting the pandemic. The U.S. seven-day rolling average of new coronavirus cases stands at 49,000 per day — down from 58,000 or so two weeks ago, according to a New York Times tracker.

The rate of tests returning positive is down to 6.4%, though officials don’t want people to get complacent around Labor Day.

“This thing could turn around very quickly if we’re not careful,” said Adm. Brett Giroir, an assistant health secretary and a four-state admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service.

Adm. Giroir, the U.S. coronavirus-testing “czar,” said COVID-19 exposure apps are not something the federal government has mandated but he would “certainly support their use.”

He said states that have adopted some form of app technology seem pleased with them, and the U.S. testing framework can prioritize people who might have been exposed and need a diagnostic test based on contact-tracing information.

“We do have tests available,” he said.

Dr. Levine said the Bluetooth technology lets users remain anonymous, since the app essentially treats other users as a mix of serial numbers instead of using identities. It does not enable location services or use GPS to track individuals, as privacy concerns remain one of the key roadblocks to broader use of COVID-19 apps.

“It is important for users to know that we are not collecting any personal information with this app,” Dr. Levine said.

Once an infected person types in a code, the app will upload the last 14 days of Bluetooth interactions with other app users who were within 6 feet of the infection person for 15 minutes or more. It will then notify the other users.

Thomas Tsai, an assistant professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said apps can be useful in disrupting transmission but cannot replace “the really hard work” of trained personnel who trace infections and help people follow guidelines.

“I don’t think it’s a substitute for good-old public health contact-tracing and linking those individuals to social services, but it is I think a helpful way to make the process potentially more efficient,” he said.

Broadly speaking, the U.S. has been slow to adopt smartphone technology as part of its pandemic efforts.

Some countries, including South Korea, have relied on sweeping tech-based efforts as part of its success story in controlling the virus, while Kuwait used smartphones and high-tech bracelets to track cases and enforce quarantines.

Global users have reported an uneven experience. Some say it doesn’t provide enough information about their potential exposure to be useful, while privacy advocates say they’re leery of government intrusion.

The Virginia Health Department said it is highlighting the privacy controls within its app, COVIDWISE, since its success will depend on the number of people who download it.

As of Tuesday it had recorded 389,078 downloads of its version, dubbed COVIDWISE, representing an estimated 9.15% of Virginians between the ages 18-65 who own a smartphone, according to department spokeswoman Julie Grimes.

She said the state is still trying to promote the app to enlist more users.

“We continue to emphasize the privacy protection that is afforded through the use of the Apple and Google technology,” she said, “but some people still don’t understand that COVIDWISE is an exposure notification app, not a contact tracing app, and as such does not collect, store, track or transmit any location data or personal information of the person who uses COVIDWISE.”