Millions of California residents woke up Thursday morning with an invitation to join a new digital COVID-19 contact tracing app called CA Notify.
Smartphone users can now opt-in to the service designed by Apple and Google that uses Bluetooth to track when two devices have been near each other for at least 15 minutes.
If a CA Notify user tests positive, they'll be texted a code to plug into the app. Other users who have been within 6 feet of them will then receive a notification about potential exposure.
The platform is available on the iPhones Settings menu under "Exposure Notifications," but Android users will have to download the CA Notify app directly.
On an iPhone, turning on California's COVID-19 exposure notifications is as easy as going to your settings.
The move to launch a statewide notification tool comes nine months into the pandemic and two days after California set single-day records for COVID-19 fatalities.
"When combined with other actions like wearing masks and physical distancing, CA Notify can help curb the transmission of COVID-19," CA Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Ghaly said in a statement. "This technology is another way for Californians to take proactive steps to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe."
According to state officials, the tool does not track location or reveal your identity to other users. It is free and voluntary, raising potential questions about whether a substantial portion of Californians will opt-it.
In a press briefing Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom said the state held off on launching the platform over concerns about security privacy protection.
"That's why we've been frankly a little stubborn and kept our eyes wide open in terms of this technology," he said.
The platform was piloted in September at UC San Diego and UC San Francisco, and launched at five additional UC campuses in November. Officials said they do not know how many people enabled the program during that trial run, but campuses estimate around 250,000 users.
In September, L.A. County partnered with the crime-tracking app Citizen to promote SafePass, a contact tracing tool that uses both Bluetooth and GPS location-tracking. It was met with some concern from security experts over how the app was using and storing personal data. The Department of Public Health said the state is still partnering with the app.
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Visitors to L.A. – or locals looking for a fun reason to leave their apartments – can scroll the interactive map on a browser or download the app.
Image courtesy of the L.A. Tourism Dept.
The “Discover Los Angeles” map can be broken down by neighborhood or by a series of “guides,” which all feature as part of the larger promotional campaign roll-out known as the Explorer’s Guide to L.A
Atlas Obscura and the Tourism Department also published a hardcover edition of the Explorer’s Guide, along with several other speciality breakout guides, including the Meeting Planners Guide, artistic Visitor’s Map and, for those with more expensive tastes, the L.A. Luxury Guide to the city’s pricier pursuits. The paper versions of the guides have QR codes for travelers to scan and take information with them on the go.
This year’s collaboration with Atlas Obscura gives the Tourism Department’s previous guide a much-needed update – it was previously a whopping 136-page PDF document created in 2020.
The Explorer’s Guide includes a mix of places you’d expect to see on the map, like Griffith Park and the museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. It also has some unlikely spots sourced from Atlas Obscura’s network of local explorers who recommended their favorite places to visit: the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Venice Canals or the Watts Towers, a stunning, monumental public art exhibit of mosaic steel towers that was built by one Italian immigrant over a 34-year period.
30 neighborhoods are discussed in the guide, from classic tourist destinations like Hollywood and beach cities like Santa Monica and Venice to lesser-known but still exciting enclaves like Leimert Park, Frogtown and Little Ethiopia. There’s also several maps for specific interests – taqueria lovers will find new spots to nosh with the taco map, and there’s also a map of the Downtown Arts District, spots to stargaze and sports venues.
“For myself and the writers and editors on this project, many of them L.A. natives, getting to write and curate the official visitors guide to the city of L.A. was an absolute dream,” Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras said in a statement. “We hope that these guides will inspire all the curious travelers arriving in L.A., to try new things, as well as providing new adventures for longtime L.A. residents. There is really no limit to what L.A. has to offer.”