Published on January 4, 2022, 12:58
While the rapidly spreading omicron variant is the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the country and in the San Francisco Bay Area, it's worth remembering that there is a feature on your phone that can help you. warn of recent exposure and help stop the spread of the virus.
But first, you need to enable these notifications.
Early in the pandemic, Apple and Google partnered with state health agencies to use Bluetooth technology built into iPhones and Android devices, which transmits data between phones within range of each other. As omicron rages on and spreads with unprecedented speed – despite seemingly low hospitalization rates for those vaccinated and boosted – more and more people are starting to get these notifications.
In California, CA Notify is the government service responsible for slowing the spread of COVID-19 through technology in our phones.
CA Notify uses Bluetooth technology on our phones to try to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Some people may have received a notification message with a red alert sign and the words "Possible exposure to COVID-19 virus". And Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, says this notification could be key to getting more people tested for the virus.
"It makes it easy for individuals to go and get tested, which suits a lot of people," he told SFGATE in an email. “Anecdotally, I know several people who have used the notification as an incentive to go get tested and some of them have tested positive. »
The technology is not perfect, as institutions such as MIT Technology Review have pointed out. The information it provides is usually limited, as it requires a large number of people to use the service to get the most accurate data. It is also an inconvenience for healthcare workers and other professionals who work closely with people who are COVID-19 positive, as the virus tends to show up very often in their daily lives, said Chin- Hong.
“Since no private information is submitted and the data is collected at the individual level, we will never know the effectiveness of this measure,” he said.
But for some peace of mind – and an extra precaution – it never hurts to activate it, if you haven't already.
Related to this article:iOS 15: iPhone lock screen bypass revealed in videoHere's an explanation of how to set up these notifications and what to do if you receive a notification.
Note: This is a step-by-step guide for iPhones. According to Google, which develops Android, “you must … download an official app from your local public health authority. » The CA Notify app can be downloaded from the Play Store.
How to enable COVID-19 notifications on your iPhone?
Step 1: Turn on Bluetooth and leave it on. Data cannot be shared when Bluetooth is disabled. Most of the time, the Bluetooth function is automatically activated, so check if it is already activated on your phone. Related: Helicopter Crash: Cell Phone Captured Everything Before Crash
Find the "Exposure Notifications" tab and follow the instructions to set up COVID-19 exposure data on your phone.
Step 2: Go to Settings and scroll down to “Exposure Notifications”. On an iPhone, it's in the same section as "General," "Control Center," and "Accessibility." You will find it just below the "Emergency SOS" tab. The "Exposure Notifications" tab will have a large red dot around which smaller red dots will circle, to look like a virus.
Step 3: When you click on the “Exposure Notifications” tab, you are prompted to “Select your country or region”. Click on the country in which you live. Then, if you live in the United States, click on the state in which you live. You will then be prompted to accept the terms and conditions.
Step 4: Immediately after agreeing to the terms, a notification will pop up asking you to allow notifications from this app. You must click "Enable", otherwise the system will not work.
Step 5: The next screen will show a message saying “Exposure notifications are enabled” and you will click on the blue “Next” button at the bottom. The following message is very important. CA Notify will ask you to "provide your data to help understand the spread of COVID-19". Click on the blue button that says "Share". This is an essential step, as it will share your exposure data (or lack of exposure) with the entire system and notify those who were near you to possible exposure to the virus.
Look for green checkmarks under “Exposure Notifications”.
What to do if you receive a COVID-19 phone notification
Suppose you receive a phone notification that you may have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus. See also: The Razer Blade 15 for less than 2700 euros during Black Friday on Amazon!. What should you do now?
Related to this article:Built-in oven function on sale on Amazon during Black Friday 2021"The first thing to do is breathe and don't panic just because the app doesn't know how protected you were at the time or if it was a credible exposure," says Chin- Hong.
But get tested — ideally three to five days after initial exposure, he added. This period is doubled if you begin to experience symptoms related to COVID-19.
You can also let your friends and relatives know about your exposure, especially if you've been hanging out with them recently and they haven't turned on the feature.
If you test positive, you must enter the “Exposure Notifications” tab in “Settings” and click on “Share a positive diagnosis of COVID-19”. This action is crucial, as it will send a message to other phones she has approached and alert others to your positive diagnosis, anonymously. A PCR test to confirm your rapid test result would also be beneficial, if possible, as organizations like the American Institute for Microbiology have found high rates of false positives due to failure to follow the rapid test manufacturer's instructions.