Exposure notification app is supplementing Delaware’s contact tracing efforts
WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), and the Delaware Department of Technology and Information (DTI) announced that COVID Alert DE has surpassed more than 50,000 downloads among Delawareans.
About 9 percent of people who have tested positive and were interviewed by members of Delaware’s Contact Tracing Team since the exposure notification app was launched on September 15 have said they downloaded the exposure notification app on their phone. Among their close contacts, 16 percent told contact tracers that they also had COVID Alert DE on their phones.
“COVID Alert DE is another tool to help slow the spread of the virus in our state,” said Governor Carney. “As more and more Delawareans download the app, we know that it is successfully supplementing our contract tracing efforts through anonymous and secure exposure alerts. That will help us keep our transmission rates low going forward – and make even more progress getting more children back to school, and more Delawareans back to work.”
Any Delawarean with the COVID Alert DE app will receive an anonymous exposure notification alert if they are identified as a close contact of a COVID-positive individual in Delaware or three other states. Delaware’s app is interoperable with COVID Alert PA in Pennsylvania, COVID Alert NJ in New Jersey and COVID Alert NY in New York. Users should download the application in the state where they are currently living and expect to be tested for COVID-19. The exposure notification apps are built on Bluetooth technology from Apple and Google.
COVID Alert DE is available in the App Store or Google Play.
“I want to urge more Delawareans to download the COVID Alert DE app as a way to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, especially if you work in a front-line job or are living on a college campus,” said Molly Magarik, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS). “If you already have the app, I urge you to use the symptom tracker every morning, especially with flu season expected to intermingle with COVID-19 during the fall and winter.”
The app is not a substitute for basic public health precautionary measures – including mask-wearing, social distancing in public, avoiding crowds and frequent handwashing. Additionally, those who have the app are still asked to speak with contact tracers from the Division of Public Health if contacted.
Download the app:
Visit de.gov/covidalert for additional information about COVID Alert DE, or send questions to DPHCall@delaware.gov.
Are you a business, nonprofit, or organization interested in COVID Alert DE? Email questions about partnership opportunities to DHSS_TownHall@delaware.gov.
Anyone with a question about COVID-19, whether related to medical or social service needs, should call Delaware 2-1-1. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can text their ZIP code to 898-211. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Questions can also be submitted by email at DPHCall@delaware.gov.
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