Mobile phone exposure notification tool comes to Alaska

Jan. 11, 2022

Alaska residents can now choose to opt in to a new tool for keeping track of potential exposure to COVID-19. 

Alaska COVID Exposure Notification Express, or ENX for short, is a tool that allows your mobile phone to keep you informed about COVID-19 exposure. Alaska COVID ENX is free, anonymous and easy to use. 

iPhone users can enable ENX by turning on “Exposure Notifications” in their settings and following the prompts. Starting Jan. 18, Android users can find the app on the Google Play store by searching for “Alaska COVID ENX.”

Once enabled, ENX uses secure phone-to-phone bluetooth codes to automatically keep a log of when your phone is near other ENX-enabled phones. When an ENX user tests positive for COVID-19, they can enter their status into their phone. The system then anonymously alerts other ENX users who were near them recently.  If you test positive, you can use ENX to anonymously alert people you were in close contact with, which saves you time. Quicker notification of close contacts will allow people to take immediate steps to protect themselves and their communities.  

University employees and students are encouraged to use this new tool to help slow the spread of COVID-19 on our campuses. Find more information and get started on the Alaska COVID ENX website.  

Additionally:

It may be time for a booster shot

With the new omicron variant spreading rapidly throughout the country and in Alaska communities, it’s more important than ever to get your COVID-19 booster shot. Even if you have completed your primary series of COVID-19 vaccination, booster shots greatly increase your protection. Everyone age 12 and up is eligible. Timing depends on which vaccination you received initially. You can find more information about which booster shot to get and when to get it on the CDC’s COVID-19 booster shot page. You can also find information about where to get the COVID-19 primary series and boosters at vaccines.gov.

Isolation and quarantine guidelines

The CDC has been in the news recently due to changes to their guidance for isolation and quarantine. The new guidance has a fair number of caveats based on whether or not you are vaccinated and/or have received a booster vaccination. In recognition of the unique aspects of a university setting—things like classrooms, travel and congregate living—as well as increasing cases due to the omicron variant, the university will not be changing its isolation and quarantine guidelines at this time. For more information about what to do if you have COVID-19 or have been exposed to the virus, visit the COVID-19 scenarios page and follow the instructions there. 

Minor updates to guidance documents

There have been some minor changes to the university’s COVID-19 policy guidance documents. None of the changes will affect operations, but were rather edits to clean up and streamline the guidance. In addition, the university has replaced its “phase A-D” on-site operations plan with a plan that reflects the spectrum of safety precautions and mitigation measures universities have been using throughout the pandemic. You can find these documents in the UA guidance section of the UA COVID-19 website.