NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- New York's COVID app was reportedly only used to contact-trace a fraction of the new cases reported in the state since its launch a few months ago.
More than 1 million people downloaded the COVID Alert NY app after it was unveiled in October.
Since then, more than 440,000 New Yorkers have tested positive for the virus, but only about 1,400 of those positive tests were contact-traced through the app, according to the New York Post.
The 1,400 people who reported being positive through the app led to 1,300 more people being notified.
The MTA's Larry Schwartz, a former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo tasked with running the state's contact tracing program, told the Post that the app was an "added tool" in the program and part of a multifaceted effort.
"We've reached more than 80 percent of all positive cases and 85 percent of their contacts," Schwartz told the Post. "No one else in the country has had that kind of success."
The app, which is not mandatory, does not use GPS technology but rather Bluetooth to detect other devices less than six feet away. It then sees if one of those devices belongs to someone who tested positive.
