Oakland Co. To Use Local Software Company's Contact Tracing App

OAKLAND COUNTY, MI — Oakland County is teaming up with a Rochester-based software company to offer local restaurants and school districts to streamline contact tracing processes amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Oakland County Department of Economic Development has contracted with Clear To Go! for its software and app the county said helps ensure that people entering certain buildings are healthy and adhere to health guidelines.

Oakland County is paying between $500,000-$750,000 for the software using federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding passed at the end of 2020, officials said in a news release Tuesday. The contract runs through June.

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“One of the challenges for restaurants, schools and businesses is screening clients, students or employees and then keeping track of the all the data,” County Executive David Coulter said in a statement. “This software allows our schools, businesses and restaurants to stay safe, run more efficiently and be less intrusive for everyone.”

Scott Garretson, Clear To Go! co-founder and the chief executive officer said the company has performed over 1.5 million screenings and helped clients manage over 15,000 cases. That number includes screening apps for employees, case management for human resources and a visitor management system, county officials said. The company's software is in use in several local communities and Lake Orion Schools.

“Clear To Go! provides a simple solution to help organizations of all sizes streamline daily health screening, tracking who was onsite for tracing, and manage cases/quarantines to know when it is safe for them to return onsite,” Garretson said. “The biggest time saving our clients experience is with our case management solution. Managing quarantines and failed screenings to know when a person can return onsite can be very time-consuming. We help our clients prioritize cases and allow end-users to share additional information with their open case directly to save time.”

According to a published description of the process, employees, guests or students who enter a location are screened with the Clear To Go! iOS, Android or SMS app using a configurable set of key COVID-19 health-related questions and optional temperature check.

Once the person is cleared, the information is linked to a Clear To Go! badge allowing that person to work onsite until the next required screening period.

If an employee or guest fails the screening, Clear To Go!’s case management tool provides early warning detection and a central point to ensure an employer’s established processes and protocols are followed and then tracks all documents and communications from a human resources perspective.