New COVID Alert NJ App now available

COVID Alert NJ, a new free and secure mobile phone app, is now available to assist all of us in our fight against COVID-19.

Available for download on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, COVID Alert NJ is the state’s new exposure notification app. It will anonymously alert users if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, it will provide users with up-to-date information on New Jersey reopening news, key COVID-19 metrics, and a user-friendly symptom tracking tool.

How COVID Alert NJ works
Using either the Apple App Store or the Google Play store, users download the app and opt-in to receive Exposure Notifications.

As you go about your day, the app will use Bluetooth to sense any close contacts—other app users who come within six feet of you for 10 or more minutes.

When the app senses a close contact, your phone will exchange a secure random code with the close contact’s phone. Your location and name are never disclosed.

If you test positive for COVID-19, a public health representative will call you and ask you if you’re willing to anonymously notify your close contacts by uploading your app’s close contact codes.

Each day, the app will compare your list of close contact codes to the list of codes associated with positive COVID-19 app users. If there is a match, you will receive an Exposure Alert, along with appropriate next steps.

An important tool
Use of the app will alert you if you’ve been in contact with another app user who has tested positive, even if that person is a stranger. It will allow you to track your symptoms and offer guidance on how to protect yourself and others in our community. And it will provide the latest information and statistics related to the pandemic.

For more information
Visit the COVID Alert NJ website. There, you’ll find a robust Q&A section addressing how the app works, data and privacy issues, and technical specifications and user experience, among other topics.

We urge you to download the app, which gives our University another tool to work together to fight COVID-19.

Tony Lowman
Provost

Kevin S. Koett
Interim Vice President of Student Life/Dean of Students

Scott Woodside
Director for the Wellness Center