The Department of Public Health is exploring avenues to ramp up their contact tracing and investigation efforts. The agency is looking at two programs that would expand their tracing efforts with the simple use of smartphone.

Currently the Department of Public Health is using what's called the e-mocha app to help with contact tracing efforts, but the app is mainly to track confirmed cases and people who are at high risk, according to Public Health Director Dr. Janna Manglona their attention is now focused on containing covid in terms of arriving travelers with using what's called the Sara Alert.

"What that would entail, we envision logging people into that system when they come to Guam," she explained.

According to Sara Alert's website the program would allow public health officials to enroll individuals who are ill or at risk of developing a coronavirus infection. It enables individuals to enter their symptoms daily, providing public health departments' real time insights to monitor and contain the spread of the virus. Sara Alert offers multiple access methods including web, text, email, and phone calls.

"The system itself does the monitoring for you," said Dr. Manglona. "It will contact people and reach out to them to say, 'Hey, remember to login whether you have any symptoms or no symptoms', so it takes the burden off of staff having to physically call you. Then someone monitors that daily log and if we need to reach out and get you help we can do it rapidly if we use that system."

The agency is also looking to partner with the Pathcheck Foundation which according to its website is a global community of organizations, researchers, health officials, and volunteers working together to build open source software, standards, and public health programs that help contain the pandemic, restart the economy, and protect individual freedom and privacy.

"That one uses GPS in your smartphone and it shows where all you've been," continued the medical director. "And if everyone logs into that system, then if someone becomes positive then it will alert other people. It will sort out where you've been to notify you whether you have been in close proximity to someone who actually had COVID."

And while Public Health looks to go more digital, it still needs boots on the ground. According to Dr. Manglona they are hiring more soldiers for their contact tracing efforts and if you'd like to enlist and help fight the battle against COVID on Guam you're urged to visit the Department of Administration's website for the list of openings.