DC Health: COVID exposure notification system ends on May 11

1 year ago 4

According to DC Health, more than 40,000 people used the app to learn of any possible exposures, generating more than a million notifications.

WASHINGTON — Officials announced Monday plans to end D.C.'s COVID-19 Exposure Notification System on May 11. 

The exposure notification system, commonly referred to as DC CAN, was launched in October 2020 and alerted residents who may have come into contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19. Once a day, the system would download a list of keys belonging to people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and report their diagnosis through DC CAN.  

According to DC Health, more than 40,000 people used the app to learn of any possible exposures, generating more than a million notifications.

The app is part of a nationwide program that will discontinue operations on May 11. With the operations ending, users' phones will no longer notify if a person comes near a person who has tested positive for COVID. 

The end of the notification system comes as President Joe Biden ends the Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on the same day.

DC Health says it will continue to alert residents if exposure notifications become available again in the future. 

President Joe Biden informed Congress that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared.

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