New mobile app could be game-changer in virus fight

The renowned traveling abilities of NDSU Bison football fans may have indirectly helped to provide inspiration for the latest tool to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state.

Care19, a new location-tracing mobile phone app created by the inventor of the locally-famous "Bison Tracker," documents users' recent close contacts from city to city should they contract COVID-19, in order to track down the disease's transmission with greater precision.

Jackie Schroeder, a Carrington resident who works with the North Dakota Department of Health, says that as of Tuesday, there are 20,173 persons (and counting) who have already utilized Care19 since its launch on April 7.

"This app will help reduce the spread by efficiently and effectively identifying individuals who may have had contact with people who have tested positive," said Schroeder.

For example, Schroeder, currently assisting the NDDOH with contact tracing, said that when a person tests positive, the app makes it that much easier to pinpoint where a person has been in the virus's incubation period of 14 days.

"I could look at the map, and see that, yes, on Friday, April 17, I was at my son's and at Leevers in Carrington, versus trying to remember when I went there," she said.

Upon download of the app, a personalized ID number, featuring the code ND followed by a dash, eight numbers, another dash and one more number, is assigned to the user.

Care19 anonymously caches an individual's locations throughout the day, and they can categorize their movement into different purposes, such as work and buying groceries. Locations are only tabulated if a person stays for more than 10 minutes.

With technology comes the concerns some might have about the privacy of their data, and whether Care19 would provide information to unauthorized third parties.

Schroeder says that the app is safe to use for that purpose, and that users have nothing to fear.

"No one has access to individual information," she noted. "If needed, they can choose to then give us (NDDOH) that information to proceed with contact tracing. The only person who can see it is the person who downloaded it, and you are able to delete the information as you wish."

The mapping technology, by design, does not show people at all, but all those who are using the app in a specific city. Dots are sized proportional to the number of users within that city.

Care19 came about as the brainchild of Tim Brookins and his company, ProudCrowd. Brookins had already created the Bison Tracker, which documents the GPS locations of NDSU supporters on what has become their annual trip to the NCAA Division I FCS National Championship in Frisco, Texas.

Brookins' connections with Great Plains Software, which now-Governor Doug Burgum helmed as president until 2001 when it was sold to Microsoft, were a big factor in the app's development.

In information on the website ndresponse.gov, which is the state's portal for the latest COVID-19-related updates, Brookins and ProudCrowd are providing the technology for Care19 free of charge to the state.

"Having access to years of development and testing allowed the Care19 application to be created in an incredibly short amount of time," according to the site.

Eventually, there may be a need for the state to fund the purchase of servers to run the app, depending on the volume of Care19 usage.

Microsoft employees have been collaborating to create and test the app, and is also engaged in other projects with the state to streamline additional parts of the contact tracing process.

While no other states are currently running Care19, ndresponse.gov noted that the app's build allows states to come up with their own versions if they choose to proceed with it.

The app runs on Apple's iOS version 13.0 and above, which is compatible with iPhone models as far back as the 6s and 6s Plus.

Schroeder said that the Android version came out for the public on Tuesday, which requires system 6.0 and above.