FILE People wear protective face masks at the subway platform in the World Trade Center transportation hub. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - Google and Apple have created a mobile contact tracing app that allows users to receive alerts if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVD-19.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of the free and voluntary COVID Alert NY during a teleconference Thursday.
The app uses Bluetooth technology to sense anyone with coronavirus within six feet of the subscriber for more than 10 minutes and then sends an anonymous alert to the user. When the app senses a close contact, it exchanges a secure random code with that person's phone.
New Jersey is also using the app which will not record any identifying data.
COVID Alert NJ provides users with up-to-date information on reopening news, COVID-19 metrics, and a symptom tracking tool.
You can download COVID Alert NY and COVID Alert NJ at the App Store or Google Play Store.
The more people download the app, the more effective it will be, said Cuomo. Contact tracers will be asking anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 to consider downloading the service.