Los Angeles County has partnered with the Citizen SafePass application for digital coronavirus contract tracing, officials said.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger joined Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, Mayors Eric Garcetti, Robert Garcia and Terry Tornek as well as Citizen CEO Andrew Frame to launch a partnership with the Citizen SafePass app to support the County’s contact tracing program.

SafePass is a new tool within the Citizen app that can help individuals manage all COVID-related exposure alerts and information. It utilizes technology to provide digital contact tracing, in addition to providing its users with regular symptom tracking and testing information.

“Robust, efficient and thorough contact tracing is critical to interrupt the ongoing transmission of COVID-19 and reduce community spread,” said Barger. “The SafePass app is an innovative program that will serve as a valuable tool for Los Angeles County in our continued efforts to keep residents safe and move forward on our path to recovery and reopening.”

SafePass uses mobile Bluetooth to anonymously track people with whom an individual has come into contact. If an individual tests positive for COVID-19, it will provide an anonymous alert to those contacts and provide options for nearby testing sites. Users can also opt-in to voluntarily share their health status with friends and family.

All of the data that is collected through the contact tracing system is encrypted, stored securely for 30 days and then permanently deleted. These privacy precautions are intended to fully protect its users and their contacts.

“The SafePass app relies on our continued sense of community impact and asks our residents to work with us to slow the spread,” Barger continued. “We are grateful for the opportunity to pursue additional measures that will help in our collective response to this global pandemic so that we can return to a greater sense of normalcy.”

Traditional contact tracing is a lengthy process that relies on information shared by individuals who test positive for COVID.

The County currently has 2,600 individuals deployed as contact tracers and to date, they have completed nearly 195,000 contact tracing interviews with cases and 53,000 interviews with contacts. The new technology offered by SafePass will help supplement the County’s contact tracing program.

To find out more information about Citizen’s SafePass app, visit here.

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