The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services: MI COVID Alert
MI COVID Alert: the official COVID-19 Exposure Notification App for The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
Situation Overview
MI COVID Alert is the official COVID-19 Exposure Notification app for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. This was a pilot launch for Michigan State University and Ingham county in October. The statewide rollout is planned for November. This app was developed in partnership with Google Cloud and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The app will alert Michigan residents using the app when they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The app is completely anonymous and does not collect, store, or share personal information or location data.
How MI COVID Alert Works
Download the free MI COVID Alert Exposure Notification app from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and enable Bluetooth and Exposure Notifications. Bluetooth must be on for the app to work.
The app is part of the contact tracing operation. It uses Bluetooth and anonymous IDs to log:
- Any phone you are in close contact with that also has the app
- Bluetooth attenuation which approximates the distance between your phone and another app users’ phone
- The length of time your phone is near another app users’ phone
The app periodically downloads a list of anonymous IDs for users who have anonymously reported a positive test.
If you have been within 6 feet of someone for 15 minutes or more and they anonymously share a positive COVID-19 result, you’ll get an alert that you may have been exposed.
The app does this work in the background. This means you can use your phone as normal.
If the app finds that you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, you will get a notification. The notification will appear in 2 places. This is to make sure you see it.
- The notification will appear on your phone’s home screen as a push notification.
- The notification will also show within the app with additional information and resources.
Google Cloud, SpringML, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services worked together to build this app in a matter of weeks with amazing traction in the first week. To learn more about MI COVID Alert and to download the app, visit https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/contain-covid/covidalert.
