Mike Peterson
The state of Pennsylvania has launched its coronavirus exposure notification app, dubbed COVID Alert PA and based on Apple and Google technology.
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health officially released COVID Alert PA on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play store. The state first signaled intent to release a COVID-19 app based on the Apple-Google exposure notification framework in August.
"You can now add your phone to the fight against COVID-19 by going to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and downloading the free COVID Alert PA app to your smartphone," the Department of Health wrote. The app is available to download here for iOS and here for Android.
The app, like similar exposure notification systems deployed in the U.S. and beyond, is designed to alert users when they've been exposed to COVID-19. It works by using short-range Bluetooth identifiers to determine proximity to other users with the exposure notification system. All data is stored on-device, and no personally identifiable information or location data is collected.
Pennsylvania reportedly has a $1.9 million contract with Irish software company NearForm, creator of Ireland's COVID alert system, to deploy and maintain the app.
Along with the exposure notification system, the COVID Alert PA features other coronavirus-related content — including up-to-date case counts from the Department of Health and a COVID-19 symptom tracker. The COVID Alert PA app is also interoperable with neighboring Delaware's COVID-19 app, which launched earlier in September.
Hawaii is also set to roll out an exposure notification app, AlohaSafe Alert, as the state braces for an expected flood of tourists, reports the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Visitors to the islands have faced strict quarantine and no-entry measures since coronavirus outbreak began months ago, but those restrictions are set to expire in October.
In iOS 13.7, Apple also introduced the ability to use the exposure notification system even if a state or regional government hasn't implemented their own app.
Updated with information about AlohaSafe Alert.
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
9 Comments
Got it! Easy enough.
Pennsylvania is a Commonwealth
“Commonwealth”? Darn so they’ve got zero standing or legitimacy in America since “Constitution of the United States:
Article. I.
Section. 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section. 2.
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature....”
Has anyone told the Phillies? Sad.
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript#toc-article-i--2
" "Four states in the nation — Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Pennsylvania — use the designation commonwealth to define themselves. The distinction doesn’t mean they’re any different or enjoy any advantages over the other 46 states. It simply means they’ve adopted the British term for providing for the “common good” or the “common wealth” of its citizens."
As evidence that there's no practical difference from a "State" Pennsylvania itself uses the terms interchangeably, ie State Board of Education and State Treasurer.
One of our friends is a big Penn State fan, I believe a graduate from there.