Safer Illinois app
August 13, 2020 10:00 AM

Dear faculty, staff and students,

I am pleased to announce that the Safer Illinois app is now available for iPhone and Android users. Click here for information about how to download the app. This app, developed by our university and managed by Technology Services, is an innovative tool to help our entire community maximize safety for ourselves and for one another as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe Safer Illinois offers the most convenient, most secure and most direct tool for managing your COVID-19 status during the Fall 2020 semester. Use of the app is strongly recommended for all faculty, staff and students during this semester. I encourage you to download it and familiarize yourself with its features as soon as you return to campus and no later than Aug. 23.

Download the Safer Illinois app to take advantage of these features:

Easy & convenient access to your test results

Safer Illinois helps you manage your on-campus COVID-19 testing.

• Personalized on-campus testing reminders
• Personalized & private on-campus testing results
• On-campus testing site locations & hours

Fast & easy entrance to classrooms & facilities

Safer Illinois includes your up-to-date building access pass.

• Wellness Support Associates, who will be in-place starting on Aug. 24, will check building entry status at the doors of university classrooms and facilities. The app will serve as your entrance mechanism, but there will be other options available if necessary.
• Your personalized granted-access or denied-access status for entry to university classrooms and facilities is based on these factors:

1. Your on-campus testing status (up-to-date or not)
2. Your exposure notification status (not exposed or exposed)
3. Your COVID-19 status (negative or positive)
4. Your quarantine status (not in quarantine, in quarantine)
5. Your self-reported symptoms 

Note: The Building Access Status display does not show any personalized health information.

A secure way to let you know you’ve been exposed

The Exposure Notification feature warns of likely exposure to an infected person.

• You can enable the Safer Illinois app to anonymously notify you of possible COVID-19 exposures
• For an explanation of how this exposure notification will work, please see the Safer Illinois website

Note: The Safer Illinois app does not record your location. This exposure notification does not replace the in-person contact tracing being done by the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.

Ways to help you manage your health & wellness

Safer Illinois provides guidance to help protect those who may be exposed or infected.

• A symptom-scale for automated self-assessment  
• Personalized guidance and next steps for responding to an exposure or positive test results
• Most recent guidelines from Champaign-Urbana Public Health District
• Contact information for virtual-care teams from local healthcare providers

The safety and privacy of our faculty, staff and students is our top priority. We have built this app with privacy at its foundation. It collects as little data as possible and has strong data security. For more information about how we have prioritized privacy and security, visit the Safer Illinois website.

Students who do not have a smartphone and want to use the Safer Illinois app should contact the Student Assistance Center. Faculty and staff members who do not have a smartphone and want to use the Safer Illinois app should contact Technology Services at consult@illinois.edu. Anyone who has support issues or needs technical support for the app should contact Technology Services at consult@illinois.edu. 

The Safer Illinois app is another way our university is utilizing innovation to provide our faculty, staff and students better opportunities to teach, learn, work and live on-campus as we continue to navigate these challenging times. I hope you will download it today to protect our entire Champaign County community. 

Sincerely,

Robert J. Jones
Chancellor