MADISON, Wis. — A COVID-19 contact tracing app launched Wednesday in Wisconsin for iPhone and Android phones. The opt-in WI Exposure Notification app allows users to enter their test results and get notified if they’ve been in close contact with anyone else testing positive.
Notifications started rolling out to Wisconsinites on Wednesday prompting users to set up the app, which functions on Bluetooth technology to anonymously share signals between other smartphones nearby that are using the app. The technology does not use, collect or store any GPS data or personal information from a user’s phone.
When an individual tests positive for COVID-19, they’ll be sent a code that they can enter into the app. The code is then used to anonymously send an alert to users who have shared a Bluetooth signal with the person who tested positive for a length of time that fits within standards of close contact.
“It might sound daunting, or too tall of an order for everyone in Wisconsin to opt in,” Ajay Sethi, UW-Madison associate professor of population health sciences said. “It doesn’t have to be adopted by everybody; it really has to be adopted one person at a time–and really within social networks.”
Sethi recommends holding conversations with loved ones and members of social networks over the holiday season to ensure everyone has opted in, to allow for easier contact tracing should anyone within a social network test positive.
Bluetooth must be enabled for the app to work properly. The app must also be installed or enabled prior to a positive test for it to work.
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