4M QUICKLY SIGN UP FOR COVID-19 SMARTPHONE ALERTS

CA Notify contact tracing app went live on Thursday

An estimated 4 million Californians have signed up for the state’s smartphone-based COVID-19 notification system as of Friday afternoon, according to the California Department of Public Health.

The system, dubbed CA Notify, officially launched Thursday and builds off of traditional contact tracing methods by sending smartphone alerts to people who’ve spent prolonged time with someone who later tests positive for the novel coronavirus.

Public health officials hope the tool will help slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus by providing people with timely inforday mation so they can selfisolate and get tested for the disease.

However, the system still needs a lot more of California’s 39.5 million residents to opt in for it to be truly effective. It launched during a time when coronavirus cases are surging throughout the state.

On Saturday, San Diego County public health officials reported 2,490 new positive cases and 14 additional deaths.

The surge continues to stretch ICU capacity thin.

On Saturday, the California Department of Public Health showed the available ICU capacity in the entire Southern California region to be just 5.3 percent, and in the San Joaquin Valley region, officials report there is no ICU capacity left.

San Diego County health officials reported Saturday that 84 percent of all ICU beds were full, a after warning that the remaining open beds did not have enough staff available to be filled at state-mandated nursing ratios.

The San Diego County Sheriff ’s Department also reported Friday night a new outbreak in one of the county jails, with 54 inmates at the South Bay Detention Facility testing positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a news release. That’s in addition to the 370 confirmed cases among inmates in the county’s jails since the pandemic began.

The Sheriff’s Department said it’s taking additional steps to increase social distancing following the outbreak, among them prohibiting the use of common areas, expanding the use of N-95 masks and restricting the movement in seven county jails.