Bloomfield Health Dept. Backs NJ Coronavirus Contact Tracing App

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield health officials are backing New Jersey’s new, contract tracing phone app, which alerts people if they may have been exposed to the coronavirus.

On Monday, the Bloomfield Health Department issued a statement in support of the new app, COVID Alert NJ, which was unveiled last week.

The free, mobile app sends an alert if a user comes within six feet of a registered infected individual for at least 10 minutes. It will not reveal the identity of COVID-19 positive individuals, state officials said. Learn more here.

“The Bloomfield Health Department is advising residents to download the app to ensure that residents are alerted as quickly as possible,” officials said.

Mayor Michael Venezia also supported the new app.

“Governor [Phil] Murphy and the state have taken COVID-19 seriously from the onset of this crisis which has saved lives and slowed the spread of the virus,” Venezia said.

“The COVID Alert NJ app will allow the state health department to notify residents immediately should they be exposed to the virus,” Venezia added. “This will ensure that they will know to self-quarantine and get tested so that they do not further spread the virus.”

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This article originally appeared on the Bloomfield Patch