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    A Tech Powerhouse, U.S. Lags In Using Smartphones For Contact Tracing

    Google and Apple teamed up on using smartphones to track coronavirus infections. But the systems are only available in a few states, where they're being used by a tiny percentage of the population.
    by Jason Beaubien Sep 23, 2020 5 minutes
    Huda Mohamed, a student at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., has an immunodeficiency. She decided to take extra precautions by using Virginia's COVIDWISE app, which alerts users who may have been exposed to the coronavirus. Such apps are only available in a few states.

    The United States is home to the world's best-known technology companies, but so far the use of smartphones to fight the coronavirus has been tepid at best.

    Smartphones have the potential to be a powerful tool in tracking the spread of COVID-19. They can tell you exactly how close you've been to other people, for how long and keep a detailed log of everyone you've been around for the last 14 days. Linked to testing systems, they can rapidly alert you if someone you've been in contact with tests positive.

    Tech giants Google and Apple have teamed up to build a system that monitors potential exposures while keeping cellphone users' identities anonymous. Health officials say smartphone apps could play a role in identifying coronavirus cases early and slowing the pandemic.

    Many countries,, and , have launched these apps nationwide with a lot of success. Yet in the U.S., such systems are available in just a handful of states and even there are only being used by a tiny percentage of the population.

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