Those devices that have random codes on record matching the codes shared to the central server by your device, will receive a notification that the device user (an anonymous fellow member of the app community) has had potential exposure to COVID-19 over the prior 14 days.
The COVID ALERT SA app gives you the power to slow the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa and to keep yourself, your loved ones and everyone else safe.
Contact tracing refers to getting hold of people who have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
COVID ALERT SA removes the need for us to remember any of these details and makes the contact tracing process far more thorough.
COVID ALERT SA is part of COVIDConnect – the National Department of Health’s digital COVID-19 response platform.
If you test positive for COVID-19, you can choose to enter your unique PIN (it’s sent to you via SMS from the National Department of Health with your test result), as well as date of birth, into the app.
Other smartphones using the COVID Alert SA app check the central server periodically, throughout the day.
Healthcare workers interview the person who tested positive to make up a list of people they’ve had close contact with over the past 14 days.
We do this to let them know that they may have been exposed to the disease, so that they can self-quarantine, monitor their symptoms and prevent the spread of the disease to others (especially those considered high-risk for serious illness or death from COVID-19).
The app uses Bluetooth signals to exchange what are called “random codes” (random numbers that change every so often) with other smart phone app users, when they come within close proximity of each other.
The app is built on Apple and Google’s exposure notification framework and it’s been designed to protect your identity and security.
The app will ask you for permission to share random codes stored on your phone with a central server.
The random codes exchanged at the time of “digital hand-shaking” are stored in a log on each phone for 14 days.
• Tell you how to manage your health and track any COVID-19 symptoms.