View a PDF presentation about Exposure Notifications provided by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment.
The opt-in technology anonymously alerts people when they have been around someone with COVID-19
On Sunday, Coloradans will receive a notice on their Android and Apple phones with instructions about how to opt-in.
CO Exposure Notifications is a free and voluntary service that will be available to Android and Apple iPhone users across Colorado. The technology alerts participants who have been in proximity to someone with COVID-19 long enough to risk an infection.
“We are currently losing ground nationally and here in Colorado to this deadly virus, but we are just launching a new weapon to defeat it. Enable CO Exposure Notifications on your iPhone or Android to help save lives.” said Governor Polis. “By alerting users to potential COVID-19 exposure, Coloradans can take quick steps in order to limit exposure and risk to family, friends, coworkers and neighbors.”
CO Exposure Notifications will complement existing statewide health safety protocols, without compromising the privacy of Coloradans. Exposure Notification systems like these are critical to preventing further spread of COVID-19. In models developed by Oxford University, researchers have estimated that even if only 15% of the population enables exposure notifications, regions could see a reduction in infections of 8% and deaths by 6%*.
When users enable the service, their smartphones will share anonymous tokens with other users through the phones’ Bluetooth technology. If another user tests positive for COVID-19 within a 14-day period and chooses to upload their results, users at risk of infection will receive an alert of potential exposure. Tokens are not associated with any phone number, name, location or IP address and they change every 15 minutes to add an extra layer of anonymity.
Sarah Tuneberg, Lead of Colorado’s Containment and Testing Team and CO Exposure Notifications service lead explains, “We understand the importance of privacy and security and have taken extensive steps to ensure personal information is not collected, stored or transmitted through the use of CO Exposure Notifications. By adding your phone to the fight and increasing risk awareness and identification, you can help Colorado stop the spread of COVID-19.”
CO Exposure Notifications also provides individuals who receive an exposure alert with instructions on recommended next steps, including information on quarantine and contacting their local public health agency.
Learn more about CO Exposure Notifications at addyourphone.com. For additional resources on COVID-19, visit covid19.colorado.gov.
Continue to stay up to date by visiting covid19.colorado.gov
Information provided by the state of Colorado.
Of course, this is a cool idea and can really help solve the problem of virus spread. But at the same time here I noticed a number of other possible problems. The first is addiction to the phone, people will just look at their smartphone all the time on the street and update the information. Secondly, it can make life very difficult for people who still decide to talk about their illness. Third, I think very few people will agree to add information about their illness to the application. And finally, it is better for such people who are already ill, to stay at home and not take risks.