Students and employees can use the ASU COVID-19 Wellness Center though the ASU mobile phone application to submit daily health checks to the University starting Friday.
The ASU app uses a Safe Health Systems HealthCheck platform to help students and employees keep track of their daily health. Student and employee data collected from the app will be used to help the University with its contact tracing efforts.
Students without a mobile device can also complete the daily health check through ASU's Health Check website.
All students and employees will be required to submit their daily health status through the app or the website before they leave home, according to the Daily Health Check page on the app. If going to campus, the system asks a few questions related to symptoms, for a user's temperature and then makes a recommendation on if they should go to campus, the app’s Health Check page said.
“The whole point of the daily health check is to ensure that we are being mindful of our daily status and how it impacts those around us,” said Bobby Gray, the director of digital transformation at ASU. “Especially with something like COVID that is transmitted person to person. The most important thing we can do is ensure that those people coming and participating in the ASU community are healthy themselves.”
Users are encouraged to share their location with the app for contact tracing purposes and COVID-19 test results from a health care provider to the University as part of ASU’s COVID-19 management efforts.
If users choose to share their location information, the app will store the location data for 14 days “to assist in notifying individuals that they may have been in close proximity with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and should take additional precautions,” the app’s Exposure Management page said. The data the system collects will be shared with ASU’s Health Services and contact tracing program but will not be sold or shared with outside entities, according to information provided through the app.
If a user tests positive and has their location information turned on, the system can pull the other devices that were in close contact with them. User information for those who were in close proximity will be shared with the contact tracing team to inform the individuals exposed that someone who has tested positive may have been in contact with them and they should quarantine and watch their symptoms, Gray said.
The daily health check will allow faculty and students to regularly monitor their own health, while also offering next steps for those who are symptomatic, Gray added.
Gray said all students regardless if they will be attending their classes though ASU Sync or in-person classes will have to submit their daily check. Users who do not complete their daily checks for 48 hours will have their MyASU password changed, Gray added.
Users can access their daily health check by opening the menu tab and selecting the Wellness section. The system also allows for users to have reminders to complete the daily health check set up through push notifications or via emails.
Reach the reporter at wmyskow@asu.edu and follow @wmyskow on Twitter.
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Wyatt Myskow is the project manager at The State Press, where he oversees enterprise stories for the publication. He also works at The Arizona Republic, where he covers the cities of Peoria and Surprise.
