NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced a new app from the state's Dept. of Health designed to tell people if they've had close contact with the coronavirus, hopefully giving them a chance to self-quarantine and avoid spreading it to others.
The app, called COVID Defense, is completely anonymous according to both Edwards and Dr. Joeseph Kanter with the LDH.
It doesn't share data, and it doesn't feed data to the LDH, Kanter said Friday.
Instead, it uses your phone's Bluetooth feature to remember what other devices have been close to you. If any of them gets a positive COVID-19 test, it'll let you know.
This app is completely voluntary and requires people to put in their own test results.
LDH is calling it a COVID-19 exposure notification app. Click below to download it on your smartphone.
The iOS app store's page for COVID Defense says it's an easy-to-use app created by LDH.
"COVID Defense protects your privacy while helping protect you from COVID-19. You will get an alert if you are in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19," the page said. "By adding this free app to your phone, you join thousands of people helping to protect one another from COVID by knowing if you've been exposed."
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