UC Riverside participating in state pilot program using mobile app to track Covid-19

At UC Riverside and UCR Health, some students staff and faculty are trying out a new tool designed to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Developed by Google and Apple, the app notifies a user when they've had contact with another user who has indicated they've tested positive for the virus.

"The technology allows the notification to occur in a private fashion and I think that is the greatest aspect of this particular program," said Dr. Andres Gonzalez, Chief Medical Officer at UCR Health.

He is overseeing UCR's participation in the free voluntary program.

It's a joint effort between the state and a growing list of UC schools, now at 7.

The major goal of the effort is to determine whether smartphone technology can encourage users to respond to a high risk exposure more quickly by self isolating and getting medical care.

"One, it allows the technology to be able to do the heavy lifting and second it allows the notification to occur in a more expeditious fashion," said Gonzalez.

If an app user tests positive and shares that with the app, other users who may have been exposed in the previous two weeks are then alerted.

Exposure is defined as being within six feet of a person for at least 15 cumulative minutes.

Information is shared between phones via bluetooth.

Gonzalez says the effectiveness of the app increases as more people use it.

Dr. Gonzales and representatives for Google say the app does not track location and does not share identify information.

Gonzalez calls it "digital contact tracing".

Twenty-five thousand people in the UCR community are being invited to participate by text and email.

They would join an estimated 20,000 already signed up at UCSD and UCSF where the pilot program started earlier this fall.

The app is not yet available to the general public.

If the app proves effective over the next several weeks the state could take measures to encourage mass adoption.

"I think it's really a great idea to help people be aware of what is going on," said desert visitor Carson Weisberg.

"It's almost like being tracked. I think it takes away from your rights," said desert resident Sabrina Gardner.