Why use the app

Why use the MI COVID Alert app

Why use the MI COVID Alert app

MI COVID Alert is a free and easy-to-use mobile phone app that can:

• alert you if you may have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus
• advise you on what to do to protect yourself and others
• alert other app users that you were in close contact with, if you test positive for coronavirus

HOW THE APP PROTECTS YOU AND OTHERS

The app will help our existing contact tracing operation by:

• reducing the time it takes to alert you if you’re a possible close contact
• alerting contacts that you might have forgotten you met up with
• enabling us to contact people who are unknown to each other

Contact tracing is a vital part of slowing the spread of the virus. The more people that download and use the app, the more it will help contact tracing.

Read more about how the app works

Alerts to you possible COVID-19 exposures

If the app finds that you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, you will get an app alert.

You won't know who the contact is or where the contact happened. You'll just know that you were close enough (within 6 feet) for long enough (15 minutes or more), for there to be a risk that you could have been exposed to the virus.

The alert will advise you what to do next.

The alert will appear as a notification on your phone. It will also pop up within the app. This is to make sure that you see it.

You'll be asked if you want to receive close contact alerts when you first set up the app.

Keeps others safe if you test positive

If you test positive for coronavirus, you can use the app to alert anyone you have been in close contact with.

Our contact tracing team will phone you if you test positive. They will ask you to identify all your close contacts, including those who do not have the app.

They will also ask you if you have the app. If you have the app, they will ask you to upload the anonymous IDs that your phone has shared for the last 14 days. You do this using the app. It's your choice if you want to do this.

If you agree, the contact tracing team will send you a unique upload code by text message. This code unlocks the upload functionality on the app.

Only the DHHS can issue upload codes if someone tests positive. People who do not have the virus will not be able to use this function on the app.

PROTECTS YOUR PRIVACY AND DATA

• It's your choice to use the app or not.
• You choose what information you want to share, or not.
• You are never asked for your name, age or address.
• You will remain anonymous - other app users won't know who you are.

Read more about privacy and how we use your data

PUT PUBLIC HEALTH ADVICE FIRST

The MI COVID Alert app has been designed to make the best use of the health advice and technology available. But it’s not perfect. It should not replace the existing public health guidelines.

It's still important to:

• Stay 6 feet from others
• Wash your hands properly and often
• Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze
• Wear face coverings in public places and when physical distancing is not possible
• Get tested if you have symptoms or have been in close contact

IMPROVING CONTACT TRACING

The app is designed to help improve contact tracing so that we can slow the spread of the virus. It makes the best use of Bluetooth technology to do this. But Bluetooth is not 100% perfect. No method of contact tracing is 100% perfect.

That’s why we use two ways of contact tracing:

• our contact tracing team calling people who may be at risk
• the MI COVID Alert app

Using two methods will improve contact tracing, help slow the spread of the virus, and protect you and others.

Read more about Bluetooth and how it's used as part of contract

IF YOU CANNOT USE THE APP

We know that some people may have phones that cannot download the app and some may not have phones at all.

The app is one part of our contact tracing operation. Our contact tracing centre will remain operating. Everyone is included in that process, whether they use the app or not.

We hope future versions of the app will make it accessible to more people. We are continuing to look at solutions to include everyone