Apple, Google, Microsoft Partner With Public Health Org to Deploy COVID-19 Monitoring App

The Association of Public Health Laboratories has formed a partnership with Microsoft, Apple and Google to launch a mobile notification system and cloud-based server to support health agencies’ COVID-19 contact tracing efforts.

The Apple/Google Exposure Notifications System will provide alerts to users that might have been exposed to the other users that tested positive for COVID-19, APHL said Friday.

Under the partnership, Microsoft will provide a “national key server” based on an open-source Google Cloud framework to host interstate operations between public health entities.

AG ENS, which is currently available for Android and Apple iOS users, will also inform individuals of potential courses of action upon being notified of COVID-19 exposure.

“We’re honored to partner with Apple, Google and Microsoft to make this groundbreaking technology accessible to state and territorial public health agencies,” said Bill Whitmar, president of APHL. “Apps using this technology will rapidly inform users of a potential exposure to COVID-19 and provide them information they can use to protect themselves and their families.”

APHL noted that AG ENS will ensure user privacy by preventing the collection and sharing of users’ location data and identity.

The effort builds on APHL’s Public Health Laboratory Interoperability Project launched in 2006 to promote information sharing in the public health community.