CT Contact Tracing App: What To Know

CONNECTICUT — The state has launched a smartphone app designed to notify users if they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced the free software for iPhones and Android mobile devices on Thursday, with assurances to residents that no personal information would be shared.

The governor said the new app is not a replacement for the state's contact tracing system, but is meant to supplement it.

Contact tracing is the process of contacting all people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have had contact with someone who tested positive. As it is possible to be infected with COVID-19 and have no symptoms, health officials have deemed contact tracing as among the most effective ways to identify and notify people who may be infected in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"This app is another tool to make sure that every resident of our state has what they need to combat this pandemic from the ground up," Lamont said.

The app, called COVID Alert CT, is available for both iPhone and Android. iPhone users can turn on notifications by going to settings and turning on exposure notifications. iPhone users can then click on Connecticut. Android users can download the app on the Google Play store.

Once installed, the app uses Bluetooth to sense whether a user's device has been within 6 feet of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more in one day.

If a user has been near another person who has tested positive and is also using the app on their personal device, an alert will be triggered notifying the user that they may have been exposed to COVID-19.

A notification will not be triggered if two devices in this scenario are just passing by for a short duration or stay more than 6 feet away from each other.

If a user tests positive — and has agreed — a contract tracer will provide them with a verification code. Once that code is submitted through the user's app, those people who came within 6 feet of that user for more than 15 minutes and who also are using the app will receive a notification on their device that they were in close contact with someone with COVID-19.

Lamont has stressed that the app will never reveal who the user is to anyone else.

"To stop the spread of COVID-19, we each need to do our part, and we hope everyone with a smartphone will participate in this new program," Connecticut's Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said. "This is just one example of how we are leveraging modern technology to fight this pandemic and keep Connecticut safe."

The app has had more than 300,000 activations in less than 24 hours, Geballe posted on social media:

According to Acting Public Health Commissioner Deidre Gifford, if even one person is in touch with a contact tracer and discusses their contacts for the past 14 days, it could result in a chain reaction that stops dozens or more from getting infected.

"Contact tracing is a critical part of the public health response to COVID-19," Gifford said. "Any effort to supplement that program could be a crucial step in stopping the spread of the virus."