Download the AlohaSafe Alert app — the State of Hawaii’s free COVID-19 exposure notification app — and your next stop could be Zippy’s.
In a new promotional campaign to encourage downloads and use of the app, “All in for AlohaSafe,” local restaurants and other businesses are joining forces to offer special discounts on food, goods and services as incentives if Hawaii residents download the app.
Zippy’s is among the first businesses to join the program. If the app attains 450,000 activations by Friday, March 26, Zippy’s will offer 25 percent off all of its breakfast bentos for the week of March 29 through April 2.
The number of downloads currently stands at 400,000. Zippy’s will feature a meter on its website at zippys.com/alohasafe to show a running total of the downloads of the app.
“Encouraging more people to download AlohaSafe Alert is an important way to help our community fight COVID-19,” said Paul Yokota, president of FCH Enterprises, the parent company of Zippy’s. “The more people who download the app, the more we keep our community safe, especially as we begin to loosen restrictions.”
Based on a study by Oxford University, research shows that in the U.K. alone about 284,000 to 594,000 infections have been averted with the technology. Further research also shows that for every 1 percent increase in users of exposure notification apps, the number of COVID-19 cases drops by 1-2 percent.
In Hawaii, hundreds of people have been notified by AlohaSafe Alert, but due to privacy protections built into the technology, specifics are not available.
The app continues to be updated and upgraded, and is also now available in Tagalog, Ilocano, Samoan, Marshallese, Chuukese, and Korean.
AlohaSafe Alert is seeking more businesses to join the “All in for AlohaSafe” campaign to offer discounts once the next milestone of 500,000 downloads is achieved. Businesses interested in offering incentives should contact Lynelle Marble at (808) 295-6162.
The app was developed through a public-private partnership with Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH), aio Digital, and the Hawaii Executive Collaborative. It is funded by DOH and donations from the private sector.
To download the free app, go to the Google Play or Apple App Store on your phone. For more information visit www.alohasafealert.org.