UCLA to pilot new campuswide COVID-19 contact tracing program

UCLA will pilot a voluntary program that will notify users if they come into contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19.

Six other University of California campuses are also partnering with the California Department of Public Health to pilot the California COVID Notify program. The program uses Bluetooth technology to notify users if they came into contact with another infected user of the program, according to the California COVID Notify website. The program does not require users to enter their name or phone number and does not track users’ locations, according to the website.

This program will be made available to UCLA students, faculty and staff campuswide.

The program will only track tests conducted at a UCLA-affiliated testing site, according to UCLA Newsroom. If a UCLA user tests positive, the UCLA Exposure Management Team will contact the user and send them a code which the user must enter into the program.

Some faculty and students said the program may not effectively limit the spread of COVID-19 at UCLA.

Peter Katona, a professor of medicine and public health and chairman of the Infection Control Working Group at UCLA, said exposure notification technology apps can quickly identify COVID-19 cases if used properly. However, he added he is not optimistic the program will be effective because the university will not require students to use it.

“Exposure notification technology requires a certain penetration of the population,” Katona said. “You can’t do it if 5% of the community adheres to it. You can only do it if 50% or 60% of the community adheres to it to really have some value. And I just don’t see that easily happening.”

[Related link: UCLA to offer free COVID-19 tests to all students at Ashe Center]

Kaemin Tosasuk, a second-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, said users are not obligated to take COVID-19 precautions if the program notifies them they came into close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19.

“People can just choose to not get tested or choose to disregard the message, so there really isn’t anything forcing them to actually get tested,” Tosasuk said. “The app could help, but I don’t think it will be as effective as you would hope.”

Akash Kapoor, a fourth-year neuroscience student and the chair of the Student Health Advisory Committee, said users who receive fewer notifications may be misled if other COVID-19 positive people on campus do not use the program.

Ellis Kim, the secretary of the UCLA chapter of Global Medical Missions Alliance and a second-year psychobiology student, said she believes the program’s effectiveness is limited because it is not open to the general public. If a user leaves the UCLA area, they risk encountering COVID-19 positive individuals who do not have the program, Kim said.

Some students said they did not have privacy concerns about the program because California COVID Notify took precautions to keep users’ identities anonymous.

Kevin Hong, a third-year psychobiology student, said he doesn’t think the program compromises users’ privacy.

“The app says that it’s completely anonymous. You don’t have to put your name, email, phone number (or) any data. So I wouldn’t think (the program has) security or privacy issues,” Hong said.

Joanne Seung, a third-year biology student, said contact tracing can help monitor the spread of the virus in large populations like the UC campuses. Contact tracing technologies deployed in China and South Korea have shown that they help maintain lower COVID-19 infection rates, she added.

“I don’t know why we aren’t using (this technology) more in our communities,” Seung said.

Seung said she expects the program to help students take accountability for their actions and contain COVID-19.

“If (students) were encouraged to have this app … I think the COVID-19 cases would go down and (students) would feel more accountable for their actions,” Seung said. “I think it would be a positive impact.”