Maui Now Requires Visitors to Download Covid Exposure Notification App

Visitors to the Hawaiian island of Maui will now be required to download a mobile app to ensure they are notified if they come into contact with someone with COVID-19.

The county has mandated the use of the state’s AlohaSafe Alert app (available at http://www.alohasafealert.org), which notifies users if they were in proximity of someone who later tests positive for Covid-19, or a similar service for all arrivals. The new rule applies to both interisland and transpacific travelers as well as critical infrastructure workers.

The website says that the app does not track your location. It anonymously keeps track of devices you’ve been in close contact with for the past 14 days using Bluetooth technology. Google and Apple cannot see your identity, nor can anyone who receives an exposure alert should you test positive for COVID-19. The free app considers a possible exposure to mean coming within 6 feet of someone for at least 15 cumulative minutes.

“The AlohaSafe app helps people know that they might have been exposed to the virus and should consider getting tested as soon as possible,” Maui Mayor Michael Victorino said in a press release for the app launch in December. “This is especially important now as our community awaits the broad distribution of the vaccine against the virus.”