Delaware launches COVID Alert DE app to stop virus spread

WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Delaware unveiled an app Tuesday to help in its efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Secretary Molly Magarik of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services announced the app's launch during a press briefing with Governor John Carney.

COVID Alert DE is free and anonymous.

"It is going to alert users if you have come into close contact, which we define as less than six feet for 15 minutes or more, with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19," Magarik said.

The app uses Bluetooth low energy technology from Google and Apple.

The app is available for anyone 18 and over with an Apple or Android phone who lives, works, or goes to school in Delaware.

If a person tests positive for COVID-19, it's up to them whether they share their result anonymously through COVID Alert DE, Magarik said.

If they say yes, they will be given a six-digit code to enter into the app by the health department.

Their code triggers their phone to upload anonymous keys which will be checked against a list of random keys which they have encountered on other users' phones over the last few days.

If there is a match, the COVID Alert DE app will send an exposure alert to those individual app users taking into account the date and the duration of the exposure.

Those who receive an alert should follow the advice from the Division of Public Health included in the app, Magarik said.

Magarik said the app does not collect or share any personal or identifiable information. It also does not use GPS or location tracking.

For more information watch the video above, including a how-to guide on using the app.