Family Life

09.22.20 | Bob Price

Governor Wolf takes the wraps off a new app, the COVID Alert PA App, during an event this afternoon in Philadelphia.

It sends notifications about potential coronavirus exposures right to your smart phone. The app uses bluetooth technology to figure out who you were within 6 feet of for 15 minutes or more.

If a person tests positive, they can upload their confirmed diagnosis using a verification code given to them by a medical professional. A push alert will then be sent to any user who came in close contact with that person.

Health officials say this should help in some situations when you don't know who you're with, like if you're talking to someone on a bus or at a restaurant.

The DOH insists the app follows Google and Apple's privacy guidelines.

Gov. Wolf says the more people who use the app, the more successful Pennsylvania will be at presenting coronavirus.