Care19 app hasn't helped track coronavirus in South Dakota

Lisa Kaczke
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
Dots show the cities where the Care19 app has been downloaded. The app keeps a list of a person's locations to help the state complete contact tracing if the person tests positive for the coronavirus.

The South Dakota Health Department hasn't been able to use the Care19 cell phone app to complete contact tracing in a coronavirus case. 

The state joined North Dakota in a partnership to use the location tracking Care19 app in early April, and South Dakota has a $9,000 contract with Proud Crowd of Fargo for the app, which will be paid with the federal coronavirus funding the state is receiving, according to Derrick Haskins, spokesman for the state health department.

The app has been downloaded more than 18,000 times since Gov. Kristi Noem announced it in early April, but that doesn't mean all users have turned on the location tracking service for the app.

South Dakota has among the highest coverage for a coronavirus app, but people with confirmed cases not using the app is common among all states using location apps, said state epidemiologist Josh Clayton.

The app tracks a person's location for the state to use in contact tracing if the person tests positive for the coronavirus. The app assigns each user a random number and doesn't give the person's name or phone number to the health department. Once the person has tested positive, they need to give the state health department permission to access their location data in the app.