Stopping COVID-19 may be as simple as picking up the phone

This post is in partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Now that Michigan is entering its tenth month amidst the COVID-19 crisis, we’re starting to learn more about the virus but also learning how important it is to wear masks, social distance, and stay home when you or a loved one is sick to help stop COVID-19. But let’s get into how using our phones is another way we can work together and stop the spread.

Michigan State University developed this really cool app, MI COVID Alert. It’s a free, easy to use, and anonymous app to help you stay informed and protect yourself or others from spreading COVID-19. So now you can see how stopping COVID-19 may be as simple as picking up the phone!

Some facts about the MI COVID Alert App

• Provides fast alerts letting you know whether you may have been exposed to COVID-19.
• Piloted at MSU and in the surrounding community.
• Research from Oxford University found a potential to reduce infections and deaths, even if just 15% of a population uses an exposure notification app like MI COVID Alert.
• 46,704 people have downloaded the app in the initial weeks of the pilot, demonstrating demand for an app with this combined technology and privacy.
• If you test positive for COVID-19, you will receive instructions from the local health department or the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to enter a code and share your test results anonymously on the app. This step helps verify results are accurate. 
• Once submitted, the app takes approximately 10 hours to begin alerting other users. 
• The app notifies anyone you were in close contact with during the time you may have been spreading the virus but won’t identify you. 
• If you have been in close contact (within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes) with someone who has COVID-19, you will receive a push notification to your mobile phone. The alert tells a user they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and how many days ago the exposure took place. This allows you to think about where exposure might have taken place, get tested, and consider quarantining. 

No personally identifiable information is collected and shared with other users

The app works in the background to gather randomly generated phone IDs to alert users, keeping personal information, and real identities safe. If you delete the app, your information will also be deleted. 

The Benefits of the MI COVID Alert App

• Checks for possible exposure every two hours.
• Advises you on what to do to protect yourself and others.
• Alerts you if you have been in close contact with someone who has the app and has tested positive for coronavirus.

The more people who use the app, the more effective it will be in helping all of us prevent the spread of COVID-19. It will also work with apps in other states

• Research from Oxford University found a potential to reduce infections and deaths, even if just 15% of a population uses an exposure notification app like MI COVID Alert. 
• In the initial weeks of the MSU-Ingham County pilot alone, 46,704 people downloaded the app. The number is the equivalent of approximately 23% of Ingham County residents ages 18- to 64-years-old and nearly 16% of the total Ingham County population. 
• Because MI COVID Alert works through a mobile app and Bluetooth technology, it will work if you are in another state or if another MI COVID Alert user is nearby. 
• The State of Michigan is working closely with Google, Apple, and other states to ensure MI COVID Alert will be compatible with similar apps in select states. 
• Other states that have introduced exposure notification apps, they include Virginia, Arizona, New York, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Delaware, Nevada, North Dakota, North Carolina, and New Jersey. Several more states have apps in development. 

How to download the MI COVID Alert App

1. Open the app store on your mobile phone
2. Search “MI COVID Alert”
3. Download the app

I have always been big on technology and I truly think this app is a super cool way to help protect yourself and all Michiganders. As much as I love to share fashion and photography content with you guys I also feel an obligation to share important information like this to help our community.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

-Sara

Thank you to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for sponsoring this post. If you’re looking for more helpful wellness articles and surviving 2020, be sure to check out my post on How to feel like yourself again in quarantine and Why it’s so important to wear a mask in 2020.

pin this article