New York and New Jersey Launch Contact Tracing Apps With Exposure Notification API

New York and New Jersey have launched COVID-19 contact tracing apps based on Apple and Google's Exposure Notification technology.

exposure notification cartoon
In a press release on the New York State website, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced the release of COVID Alert NY and COVID Alert NJ for iPhone and Android users.

Like other apps that take advantage of the ‌Exposure Notification‌ API from Apple and Google, the two apps are designed to track who people come into contact with each other using Bluetooth, providing a notification if one of those people later comes down with the coronavirus.

As well as launching their own state contact tracing apps, the New York and New Jersey governors said they would join Pennsylvania and Delaware in creating a regional network that will enable the apps to work across state lines.

In the United States, Virginia, North Dakota, Arizona, Delaware, Nevada, Alabama, Wyoming, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania have launched apps that use Apple's ‌‌Exposure Notification‌‌ API. Connecticut is also expected to launch an app in the next few weeks.

More information on Apple and Google's ‌‌Exposure Notification‌‌ API, such as how it works and where it's available, can be found in our guide.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in a Few Months With These 12 New Features

Thursday June 26, 2025 2:00 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Here's Which Vehicle Brands Will and Won't Offer Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Friday June 27, 2025 9:52 am PDT by
Apple last month announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. There was news this week about which automakers will and won't offer CarPlay Ultra, and we have provided an updated list below. CarPlay Ultra is currently limited to newer Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Fortunately, if you cannot...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Tuesday June 24, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...

Top Rated Comments

CheesePuff Avatar
62 months ago

Would save 1000x lives if people would be warned about junk food.
100% agreed, the leading cause of death in the US is heart disease, with the main driver caused by poor diet.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
REBELinBLUE Avatar
62 months ago

Would save 1000x more people if warned about junk food.

100% agreed, the leading cause of death in the US is heart disease, with the main driver caused by poor diet.
No offence but why do people insist on making these fatuous comparisons every time this topic comes up, you get heart disease from your own actions, you can't catch heart disease through no fault of your own just because you happen to stand next to someone in a queue who has it. (Obviously, there are more complicated points about socio-economic situations but the point is you can't just catch heart disease simply by being near someone who has it)

Totally different scenarios
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
meaning-matters Avatar
62 months ago
Would save 1000x more people if warned about junk food.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Morgenland Avatar
62 months ago
I am curious about their app experiences!
The creation of a regional network that enables apps to work across state lines is also a good start there.
Congrats, very promising.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BigDO Avatar
62 months ago
My govt’s one also alerted me to an exposure. It was obvious that it happened at the gym, as it was the only place i went to that day, but it was disappointing that it only notified me 10 days after the potential exposure (so I wasn’t able to quarantine soon enough). I understand that this is not an API/app issue, but it highlights that it is completely dependent on the person who tests positive entering this into the app immediately.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JulianL Avatar
62 months ago

My govt’s one also alerted me to an exposure. It was obvious that it happened at the gym, as it was the only place i went to that day, but it was disappointing that it only notified me 10 days after the potential exposure (so I wasn’t able to quarantine soon enough). I understand that this is not an API/app issue, but it highlights that it is completely dependent on the person who tests positive entering this into the app immediately.
It also depends on the tests being turned around in a reasonable time. Both the USA and the UK, and I suspect many other countries, have had issues with test turnaround times in the past. When the UK was testing its first attempt at a contact app, the version not based on the Apple/Google APIs, it was at a time when test turnaround times were so delayed in the UK that the UK Government was considering allowing users to self-declare as positive without a test result because waiting over a week for a positive result would have made the whole thing pointless. I also remember maybe a month ago the turnaround times on US testing had got to the 7 - 14 day mark to get results back from some of the major labs which Fauci was all over the news pointing out how that essentially rendered those test results worthless.

I'm not sure what the average and maximum test turnaround times are at the moment in either country but fast turnaround of test results is a critical aspect for the success of these contact tracing apps assuming that they are all set up to need a confirmed test result before declaring positive. (And the danger of not requiring an authenticated test result to declare positive is that you get idiots falsely declaring positive for a laugh or to deliberately sabotage the system so I doubt that any country/state is going down that route.)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)