A new tool is now available to help track the spread of the coronavirus.
The state is releasing a smartphone app that could let a person know if they’ve been close to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.
The app is free and works through a phone’s Bluetooth by keeping track of other phones that have the app and are within 6 feet of each other.
It’s called ‘COVID Alert’ and Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled it on Thursday.
Once the app is on a phone, it will make a list of other phones that have the app and are within a 6-foot proximity for at least 10 minutes.
That’s the distance and time medical experts determined it would take for coronavirus to potentially spread.
If a person tests positive for COVID-19, the Department of Health gives them a code to put into the ‘COVID Alert’ app.
The system would then send a notification to anyone who may have been exposed. Officials say none of the codes or information on the app will reveal personal details.
Officials say this will be used in addition to traditional contact tracing in the hopes of stopping the spread.