California announces smartphone tool to track virus cases

Sacramento, California (AP) —Governor of California Gavin Newsom said on Monday that the number of cases surged, new restrictions were imposed, and many would not listen to their stay plea. Home announced a voluntary smartphone tool that warns people of potential exposure.

Used on a pilot basis on some state university campuses, this tool does not track people’s identities or locations, but uses Bluetooth wireless signals to allow two phones to reach 6 feet (1.8 meters) from each other. Detects that it is within at least 15 times. Minutes, officials said.

40 million California residents will be able to opt into the system starting Thursday. If a person who activates the technology tests positive for the virus, he or she will receive a verification code from the state health authorities. You can use this code to send anonymous alerts to other users who may have been exposed in the last 14 days.

“The more people who participate and the more people opt in, the more effective the program can be,” Newsom told reporters. “I hope there is enough to make this meaningful.”

The technology has exploded in California with cases of coronavirus, and more than 80% of state residents have been ordered to stay home for at least the next three weeks, except for essential purposes. Because there is. In addition to the other 16 states, Guam and Washington, DC have already made available a system jointly created by Apple and Google, but most residents of these locations do not use it.

Andrew Neumer, a public health professor at the University of California, Irvine, asked how many residents would opt in because of privacy concerns and the value of the tool otherwise.

He said people may find themselves paralyzed by a large amount of information and it is not clear what to do with it. In particular, if you get a negative coronavirus test after being warned, you will only get another warning.

“From a purely epidemiological point of view, uptake is everything. If about 10% of people do it, it’s useless,” he said. “Even if it wins a taker. It hasn’t been proven yet. So what do you do?”

In the last two weeks, California has reported 250,000 positive virus cases. According to state data, the seven-day average of new virus cases on Monday approached 22,000, an increase of 50% over the previous week.

More than 10,000 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, including more than 2,300 in the intensive care unit, according to Newsam.

Carmela Coil, chairman of the California Hospital Association, has 400 hospitals in the state with a capacity of about 80%, but has hospitals in San Diego, Imperial, and Los Angeles counties, which are full of intensive care units. She said hospitals were restricted due to staff shortages following a surge in virus cases before and after Halloween.

“These numbers don’t yet include Thanksgiving holidays or family gatherings just a week ago. I expect this to get much worse before it gets better,” she said. It was.

The Newsom administration has set home rules to close restaurants, salons, playgrounds, and a large area of ​​the state’s Central Valley agricultural area after more than 85% of intensive care unit beds are occupied in these areas. Issued. Five counties in the San Francisco Bay Area have voluntarily participated in ICU capacity regulations. These restrictions last until January 4, a week longer than the state timeline.

Ten months after the pandemic, most of the states are now back where they started with a stay-at-home order. But unlike March, when the pandemic was just beginning and California was the first state to impose such rules, fewer people could follow them.

Some business owners say they will leave the door open, some law enforcement agencies say they will not enforce the rules, people voluntarily wear masks and physics to protect themselves and their families I hope to practice the distance.

Lu Garcia Reynoso, who runs a barber shop in Southern California, said she would continue to operate in Press-Enterprise. She is concerned that the salon may move underground so that it is not detected.

The recent increase in coronavirus infections began in October and is primarily blamed by those who ignore safety measures and interact with others.

Under the new curfew, retailers such as supermarkets and shopping centers can operate at 20% capacity, but restaurant meals, hair salons and nail salons must be closed.

Schools that are currently open can continue to provide face-to-face instruction.

However, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the United States, announced on Monday the suspension of all school-based education and childcare and conditioning programs for student athletes due to record numbers of virus cases. did.

Starting Thursday, Californians will be able to activate the new “Exposure Notification” tool on their iPhone settings or Android phones by downloading the CANotify app from the Google Play store. Many residents receive notifications encouraging them to participate.

Officials said the encounter was temporarily recorded in a way that did not reveal the identity or geographic location of the individual.

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Taxine reported by Orange County, California. The Associated Press author Matt O’Brien of Providence, Rhode Island, John Anchak of Los Angeles, and Olga R. Rodriguez of San Francisco contributed to this report.

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