Washington and Oregon Join California in Pilot Project Using Google and Apple Exposure Notification Technology to Slow the Spread of COVID-19

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 16, announced that Washington and Oregon, members of the Western States Pact, will participate with California in piloting a project to test promising exposure notification technology. These states join other members of the Western States Pact, Colorado and Nevada, along with states and universities across the country, in piloting this technology.  

Announced Sept. 11, by the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Technology, the pilot project will test the Exposure Notification Express mobile application pioneered by Google and Apple. The app confidentially notifies individuals who may have been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus. Privacy and security are central to the design of the technology, which does not collect location data from any device and never shares user identities. Users must opt-in to the technology.  

Through the Western States Pact, governors and legislative leaders from five western states requested $1 trillion in direct and flexible relief to states and local governments to preserve core government services like public health, public safety and public education, and help people get back to work.