Pennsylvania expands virus app to school-age phone users

• Marc Levy/The Associated Press
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  Covering Pennsylvania politics, government & scandals for @AP. The wicked flee when none pursueth. @Colorado native. As honest as a Denver man can be.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s two-month-old coronavirus exposure notification app can now be used by mobile phone users as young as 13 as health officials work to stop the virus’ spread in schools around the state, officials said Monday.

The app, named COVID AlertPa, had been limited to people 18 and over.

“By expanding the age range, middle- and high-school students will be able to add their phones to the fight and help in contact tracing that occurs in their schools if a positive case is identified,” state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine told a virtual news conference.

A parent or legal guardian must approve the minor’s use of the app, she said.

Some school districts continue to conduct in-person instruction, even though every county has passed the thresholds of new cases where the state Department of Education recommended fully remote instruction.

Pennsylvania is now reporting an average of more than 6,400 new virus cases each day over the last week of November, triple the number from the last week in October. Hospitalizations, deaths and the testing positivity rate are up sharply, as well.