FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2020
Nevada Launches Digital Contact Tracing App “COVID Trace”
Exposure Notification System Will Aid Nevada in Slowing Spread of COVID-19
Las Vegas, NV— Today, Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) launched COVID Trace, the State’s digital contact tracing app designed to slow the spread of COVID-19. COVID Trace is available for download for both iOS and Android phones.
COVID Trace is Nevada’s version of a Bluetooth-based contact tracing app designed to assist states in slowing the spread of COVID-19. COVID Trace was developed through a collaborative effort with Google and Apple. Other apps based on the same Google/Apple notification functionality have recently launched in a handful of other markets, including Virginia and Alabama, and globally in Ireland.
“The DHHS created this app so Nevadans can make use of the latest technology to keep themselves and their families safe and fight the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Julia Peek, Nevada Deputy Administrator of Community Health Services. “We strongly recommend that everyone downloads COVID Trace to their phone and begins to use it. By working together and using every tool at our disposal, we can protect our communities and flatten the curve.”
To use COVID Trace, a user will download the free app and opt-in to the Exposure Notification System. That system will generate a random ID for each user’s device. To help ensure those IDs can’t be used to identify a person or location, they change every 10-20 minutes. The user’s phone and surrounding phones will work in the background to exchange these random IDs via Bluetooth, a passive process which begins once the user opts-in, and functions without the app open. The user’s phone periodically checks all the random IDs associated with positive COVID-19 cases against its own list. If there is a match, the app will notify the user with further instructions from DHHS on what to do next to stay safe and keep others safe.
Many Nevada employers have agreed to encourage their employees to use COVID Trace, and to support the app’s use with their customers and guests. The State’s resort industry has embraced COVID Trace as a tool that will help keep their employees and guests safe. Companies encouraging use of the app with their employees include the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Las Vegas Raiders, Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming Corporation, Vegas Chamber, Latin Chamber, Allegiant Air, R&R Partners, Top Rank, NV Energy and several of the State’s counties and cities.
“Our resort industry has always been open to addressing complex challenges with innovative solutions,” said Jim Murren, chair of the Nevada COVID-19 Response, Relief and Recovery Task Force. “The adoption of COVID Trace is no different, and I’m proud of the way our business community has stepped up to participate in this important effort. The broad adoption of COVID Trace would be a game changer for Nevada, in terms of both public health and economic stability.”
For more information on COVID Trace, visit https://nvhealthresponse.nv.gov/covidtrace.