COVID Alert Pennsylvania Status

As opposed to the traditional contract tracing process where a positive COVID-19 individual may not even remember who they have been in contact with recently and for how long (for example, if the contact happened on a bus or a train or some other public venue), COVIDAlertPennsylvania uses technology developed by Apple and Google where anonymous Random IDs (pseudo random alpha numeric values) are exchanged between mobile phones.  It is important to note that both traditional contact tracing and COVIDAlertPennsylvania never reveal the identity of any person using COVIDAlertPennsylvania to other App users, and never reveal who has been diagnosed as positive for COVID-19.  Users who were in close contact with a positive COVID-19 individual who submitted their 6-digit code in COVIDAlertPennsylvania will receive an Exposure Alert.  If that individual has COVIDAlertPennsylvania downloaded a 6-digit validation code will be sent to them via SMS/text message to be entered into COVIDAlertPennsylvania , which then gives the individual the option to upload their Random IDs to a DOH diagnosis keys server.  If an individual receives a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, they will receive a call from DOH or their local county or municipal health department within 24-72 hours for case investigation and contact tracing purposes.  COVIDAlertPennsylvania knows when to provide the user with an Exposure Alert by downloading the latest diagnosis keys from the server every four hours and checking for matches.  COVIDAlertPennsylvania is designed to assist in alerting individuals that came in close proximity with someone who later tests positive for COVID-19, and to provide information about the virus and steps for controlling the spread of the virus.  In the event you receive an Exposure Notification, you will be offered advice on the Exposure Notification Information screen, and if you would like to speak with a public health representative, you can provide your phone number and someone from DOH will call you.  To ensure that Exposure Alerts work properly, users must have COVID-19 Exposure Notification Services (ENS) enabled on their phone.  Users have the option to enable the COVID-19 ENS and permit their phone to display notifications when they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.  If you are close to someone who also uses COVIDAlertPennsylvania on their phone, your Random ID will be saved on that person’s phone and their Random ID will be saved on your phone.  If there is a match, you will be notified in COVIDAlertPennsylvania that you were in close contact with a person who was recently diagnosed with COVID-19.  These diagnosis keys are checked for matches against the Random IDs of the contacts that have been collected by your phone.  A parent or legal guardian must confirm that you can use COVIDAlertPennsylvania by consenting upon download and initial usage of COVIDAlertPennsylvania .  These anonymous Random IDs cannot reveal your identity to other users, DOH, Apple, Google or anyone else.  Users can turn off this functionality in the settings page of COVIDAlertPennsylvania .