SACRAMENTO, Calif — California is rolling out a new, voluntary smartphone tool to alert people if they've spent time near someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the tool, CA Notify, on Monday during a press conference, adding people could opt-in to use it starting Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020.
"This is not contract tracing; this is notification technology. You can choose to participate in leveraging this technology to allow people that you have been in contact with or have been in contact with you to be notified of potential exposure related to the transmission of this disease," Newsom said.
When individuals voluntarily activate CA Notify, the tool uses Bluetooth technology to share random codes between phones without revealing the user or their location. If a CA Notify user tests positive for COVID-19, they will receive a verification code to plug into the app, if they choose.
"When combined with other actions, like wearing masks and physical distancing, CA Notify can help curb the transmission of COVID-19,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, California Health and Human Services Secretary, said.
Any CA Notify users who have been within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more with a COVID-19 positive person will get a notification of possible exposure. People who also came into contact with the person who tested positive in the 14 days prior will also be notified. If the person who tested positive chooses not to put the verification code into the app, people will not be notified that they came into contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19.
CA Notify could help quicken the notification process of possible COVID-19 exposure. The app will also help people understand what to do when exposed, based on the CDC and CDPH guidelines.
The tool was developed in partnership with Google and Apple and piloted with the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, San Francisco.
“Throughout this pandemic, we have tapped California’s talent pool to fight this virus, and that includes working with tech innovators like Apple and Google," Newsom said. “CA Notify will help slow the spread by alerting those who opt in to receive an alert if they’ve come into contact with someone who has tested positive.
Newsom said he does not expect millions of people to download the app, but he does hope enough people use it to make it a meaningful tool in helping mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
Starting Thursday, Dec. 10, people will be able to enable CA Notify in their iPhone settings or download the app for Android phones from the Google Play Store.
Sixteen other states plus Guam and Washington, D.C. have made available the system co-created by Apple and Google. Most residents of those places aren’t using it.
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