on March 3, 2021 at 1:12 am
Google and Apple recently launched the Exposure Notification System; a contact tracing tool to understand the chain of Coronavirus and stop continuous spreading.
The Exposure Notification System has been designed with the help of public health authorities. The app is not meant to track location or be used for identity sharing. Phones should give three alerts, allowing Utahns the choice to opt into the system.
USU student Kimmy McClellan said she hasn’t turned it on yet.
“I would consider turning it on. I think it could be a good thing, catching cases that we might not otherwise. If information is kept confidential, and not used for data mining, I don’t see a problem. I am a student so I’m exposed to many people, so it could be a useful tool to help protect me but also prevent me from unknowingly spreading it to others.”
Utah is launching Coronavirus exposure notifications, using the Apple and Google framework, on Wednesday. Modeling has produced estimates that if just 15% of a population uses Exposure Notifications, that in combination with manual contact tracing, there can be up to a 15% reduction in COVID-19 infections and 11% fewer deaths, said Navina Forsythe, director of Utah s Department of Health Center for Health Data and Informatics while announcing the launch. A higher percentage of participation can lead to even greater reductions in disease.
In May 2020, Utah had shunned the Apple-Google framework in favor of Healthy Together, an app made by a social media startup that includes personally identifiable information. The Healthy Together app is still active for Utahns, leaving residents with two state-sanctioned contact-tracing models.
Utah Investigative Journalism Project
Dr. Andrew Talbott, a Park City physician, is among those concerned that Utah’s medical cannabis law fosters clinics that charge patients upwards of $200 for a brief consultation to help them access the drug while providing limited cannabis education.
Tanzi Propst/Park Record
The following story was written and reported by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with The Park Record.
During the first year of Utah’s medical cannabis program, several clinics sprouted to help patients get the required card that allows them to purchase products from the state’s seven dispensaries.
But some worry that these businesses simply serve as “card mills” that overcharge patients but fail to deliver key services. They also blame state lawmakers for designing a program that drives up patient costs.