Skip to main content

BSC encourages students, employees to use Care19 Alert app to help reduce spread of COVID-19 | Bismarck State College

to the top of the page
Home Page

BSC encourages students, employees to use Care19 Alert app to help reduce spread of COVID-19

Published: Aug 18 2020
BSC encourages students, employees to use Care19 Alert app to help reduce spread of COVID-19 - Photo
Bismarck State College is strongly encouraging all students and employees to download the new Care19 Alert smartphone app launched by the ND Department of Health in partnership with ProudCrowd LLC, last week.
 
The app is designed to notify users of possible COVID-19 exposure while protecting their privacy. The Care19 Alert is used in conjunction with the Care19 Diary and allows users to maximize the number of people who can be notified of exposure while maintaining users’ privacy. By providing timely notifications efficiently and securely, these apps work together to significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19.
 
“This powerful tool is another layer of protection, precaution and awareness in the BSC multi-layer strategy to protection and support our students, employees and community,” says BSC President Dr. Doug Jensen. “The strength of these individual tools and precautions is in utilizing as many of them as possible in coordination with each other. Protection increases dramatically when we use these tools in combinations or in total. I strongly encourage every student and employee download the Care19 Alert and Diary to help us provide the best possible in-person classroom and campus experience for our students and community.”
 
Care19 Alert is the only app in North Dakota allowed to use the exposure notification system (ENS) application programming interface (API) jointly created by Apple and Google. 
 
More information about Care19 Alert and Care19 Diary can be found at belegendary.link/Care19.
 
 
 
The remainder of this release is from the Aug. 17 news release issued by the State of North Dakota and found here: governor.nd.gov
 
“As COVID-19 cases continue to be identified across our state, it is important for people to know whether they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus,” interim State Health Officer Dr. Andrew Stahl said. “The more North Dakotans use Care 19 Alert, the greater the likelihood they will receive timely exposure notifications that lead to effective disease prevention.”
 
By using Care19 Alert in conjunction with the original Care19 app, now called Care19 Diary, residents can maximize the number of people who can be notified of exposure. Both apps maintain users’ privacy and work seamlessly to significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19 by providing timely notifications to a broad range of users in an efficient and secure manner.
 
“For those heading off to college in the coming weeks, the app can be customized to a student’s college or university so that specific campus information can be quickly provided to the student,” North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott said. “The North Dakota University System is committed to providing a safe learning environment, and we encourage everyone to utilize the tools our state has in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
 
Care19 Alert uses Bluetooth proximity technology provided by both Apple and Google notification systems. The app provides proactive alerts and notifications to users based on anonymous keys exchanged between smartphones as users go about their daily activities. Learn more about the technology here: google.com/covid19/exposurenotifications/
 
Care19 Alert users will be notified if their device was in proximity of another device whose user tests positive for COVID-19. The app updates daily with positive COVID-19 results submitted by other users, which are then checked against the list of random keys that each device has encountered for more than 15 minutes in the last 14 days.
 
People who use Care19 Alert must explicitly choose to turn on exposure notifications, and they can turn off the app at any time. The Apple-Google Notification System utilized by the app does not collect, use or store any device location, including for users who report positive results. Users have the option to decide whether to report a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, and identities are not known to Apple, Google or other app users. The system is only used for exposure notifications by official public health authorities and is not monetized.
 
Care19 Alert is the first exposure notification app to connect with the National Key Server provided by the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL). Use of this server allows different states’ apps to communicate with each other, protecting North Dakotans when they are traveling across state borders or when others are visiting North Dakota and subsequently become COVID-19 positive.
 
Those who already have Care19 Diary will still need to download Care19 Alert to use the exposure notification system; the existing app will not update automatically to incorporate the new technology.
 
For more information on North Dakota’s COVID-19 response, visit health.nd.gov/coronavirus or ndresponse.gov.