Online apps likely to play a big role in rebooting UA campus for fall semester

Several electronic tools being developed could be used by the University of Arizona to better assess the risk of reopening campus in the fall amid the coronavirus outbreak, a campus task force says.

Among them is an app that uses a mobile device’s Bluetooth technology to provide “comprehensive and timely” contact tracing to prevent spread of the coronavirus, said Kacey Ernst associate professor and program director of epidemiology at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Built by Covid Watch, a team of over 400 volunteers worldwide, the app anonymously shares information through Bluetooth to identify other nearby devices then allows an infected person to send an anonymous alert to other app uses whom they may have exposed.

“This completely anonymous way of contract tracing would be very beneficial in high density areas like a campus where you may even be in close distance of someone for a substantial amount of time but not know their names,” Ernst said.

UA will conduct testing this summer to determine how well the app works.

The task force also is working on ways to address mental health across campus through a “Wildcat Wellness Check.”

Using texting, it allows anyone on campus to participate in daily check ins. A user can send a notification about how they are feeling, and be directed to resources on campus that can help.

“What we’re hoping this will do is provide a sort of pulse of what’s happening on campus. Without knowledge, without knowing what’s actually happening on campus, we can’t react as quickly or as nimbly as we would like,” Ernst said.

However, the onus is on the UA to use effective measuring to get students to voluntarily use the new tools when they return to campus.

“We acknowledge that one of the reasons that students want to get back to campus is to reengage in social life that is so important at this age,” said Katherine Ellingson, assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the College of Public Health.

The task force has enlisted the help of colleagues in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the Eller College of Management to market benefits of the tools and health recommendations to students who are considered low-risk for the disease.

The group’s efforts will include voluntary antibody testing for 60,000 students, faculty and staff through the “Test, Trace, Treat” initiative.

“The success of this plan is also dependent on the active engagement and continued participation of students over the course of the school year, and therefore includes suggestions for increasing engagement such as: student testing networks — those are student ambassadors that mostly colleges have on campus — course credit, (and) many campus trials,” said Cecilia Rosales, associate dean and professor at College of Public Health.

Officials are considering training for all incoming students to ensure they understand aspects of the coronavirus.

The administration will use the next two months to make final decisions, giving the campus community about a month to prepare for the UA’s Aug. 24 start.

UA campus operations will have to be as flexible as possible due to the coronavirus causing possible disruptions in learning, said, UA Provost Liesl Folks. “We’re going to need to be nimble, we’re going to anticipate that students and potentially our faculty and staff may be moving in and out of face-to-face engagement as circumstances require it,” Folks said.

Taskforce leaders say a core principle in reopening the campus is that everyone is provided the best experience.

“We know some people are at increased risk and may make the choice to stay home and engage in campus activities remotely, and it’s important to us that they are not discriminated against and that they have equitable outcomes,” Ellingson said.